


Guarding His Heart

by at1stsoo



Category: 100 Days My Prince, EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Guard!Jongin, Light Angst, M/M, Mixed Media, Pining, Prince!Kyungsoo, Romance, Saeguk style combat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 21:42:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16542821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/at1stsoo/pseuds/at1stsoo
Summary: When the Crown Prince mysteriously disappears, everyone in the palace seems prepared to move on. Except for Jongin, the prince's personal guard, who will stop at nothing to find Kyungsoo and bring him home.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a multichaptered historical au I tried really hard NOT to write, but had too many 100 Days My Prince feels and gave in. It is another mixed media fic, originally started as a tweetfic that turned into a... tweetnovel? For each chunk, try to read the text before you look the picture posted below it to avoid spoiling yourself. Enjoy!
> 
> *I'm not including all of the pictures here that I use in my Twitter version of this fic, for easier readability.

“Seja-igwisa!” One of the lower ranking royal guards bows deeply, too deeply, as he sees Jongin approach. The dark night makes it difficult to recognize faces, but Jongin eventually gets close enough to determine it is a young guard named Sehun. Jongin outranks him, as he is the personal guard of the crown prince, but the excessive respect he’s currently displaying immediately puts Jongin on edge.

 

“What happened?” Jongin tries to control the icy tone in his voice, even as he braces for bad news. Has the crown prince fallen ill? Jongin has only been gone for two days. Two days that he did not want to leave the palace, but Prince Kyungsoo had ordered him to do so, and royal orders must be followed.

Jongin would never disobey his prince.

 

_~Flashback~_

_“You haven’t seen them in years, and your father is in ailing health. Go, visit them before it’s too late.” The crown prince sat with his calligraphy brush, writing some royal decree on a large scroll, eyes trained on the paper as he calmly instructed his personal guard to take his first leave from the palace since he had arrived ten years ago._

 

_“Your Highness, I couldn’t--”_

_Kyungsoo ceased writing and stared up at Jongin, firm eyes powerful enough to stop Jongin’s speech with a single look. Jongin quickly averted his eyes from the prince’s mesmerizing stare, deferentially lowering his gaze, and swallowing hard as he fought his body’s flustered reaction. The prince rose from his seat and glided over to where Jongin stood guard at the edge of the pavilion, his royal robes billowing lightly with each purposeful step._

 

 

_“It is my wish,” Kyungsoo said, the hint of tenderness in his voice signaling that he’s inviting conversation. It’s not fit for a guard, even of Jongin’s rank, to converse naturally with the royal family, but over the years, the crown prince would create moments for the two of them to have genuine, private conversation. It was always subtle, enough so that Jongin is sure he missed the first few times Kyungsoo attempted it, but he quickly caught on to the signs and lived for these candid talks. The implied intimacy, that Jongin was special enough to speak as an equal with the crown prince, even for a few fleeting minutes, made something deep in his heart want for things he shouldn’t._

_Things Jongin knows he can never have._

 

 

_“My life’s duty is to protect you, and I can’t fulfill that if I’m away,” he politely argued._

_Eyerolling is unbecoming of a prince, but the way Kyungsoo tilted his head and quirked a brow conveyed the same sentiment. “Don’t be dramatic. I’m perfectly safe within the palace walls. When’s the last time you even had to unsheathe your sword?”_

 

 

_“...there was that dragonfly the other day in the garden that startled you.” Jongin fought back a teasing smile._

_“It was_ unusually _large and dart shaped, you agreed,” Kyungsoo huffed, throwing a fake glare Jongin’s way._

_Jongin bit his lower lip and kept the laughter in, knowing he had already pressed his luck. He nodded his head and replied in a lightly patronizing tone, “Yes, Your Highness.”_

_“Oh-ho, I will draw a moustache on you that would take a week to wash off,” Kyungsoo threatened, teasingly raising the calligraphy brush still in his hand._

_At this, Jongin did laugh, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Whatever pleases you, Your Highness.”_

_It was quiet a moment before Kyungsoo spoke again. “It would please me if you would go visit your family.”_

_Jongin took a light breath before arguing his case once more. “They’re not expecting me, it’s ok--”_

_The wooden end of the calligraphy brush touched Jongin’s lips, silencing him in an instant as he turned his surprised eyes up to see Kyungsoo’s, oh so tantalizingly close to him._

_“You will go. And that’s an order from your prince.” Kyungsoo’s tone made it clear the time for private conversation was now closed, and they had returned to their rightful places of crown prince and personal guard. Jongin dropped his gaze again, reminding his heart to return back to its proper station as well and close off all the feelings he’s not allowed to have._

_But the way the crown prince let the wooden tip of his calligraphy brush slide off Jongin’s lips, down his chin, and along the angled hemline of his hanbok, trailing lightly across his chest before the prince stepped away, made Jongin tremble._

_An accident, Jongin tells his all-too-hopeful heart. Just an accident._

 

__

 

“Did the medicine maid not make sure he took his heart medication? He needs oolong tea afterward for it to digest comfortably. Have the kitchen staff brew some immediately and bring it to his quarters.” Jongin spits out the orders rapid fire at Sehun as he strides straight toward the crown prince’s chambers to check on him. He halts when he realizes the other guard is not turning to go, but keeping pace with him, wringing his hands nervously. “Do you not have ears? Why are you still here?”

“Seja-igwisa… the crown prince… he’s not ill.”

Jongin breathes a quick sigh of relief. “Then what is it?”

“He’s… missing.”

“What?? What do you mean missing?”

“He left early yesterday morning to hunt pheasant over in the nearby plains, but he hasn’t returned.”

Upon hearing this, Jongin immediately spins around to sprint back to the stables for his horse. “Where’s the search party now? Who did they send to look for him!”

“The king dispatched many guards when a messenger from the hunting party returned saying they could not find his highness. The guards found the crown prince’s horse. By the cherry blossom tree at the edge of the cliff. We think… we think he might have fallen. Into the river.”

“No,” Jongin says firmly. Kyungsoo can’t swim. He can’t swim and that would mean…

“They’re searching for his body along the shores, sir.”

__

 

A tidal wave of grief hits him, but Jongin’s body rejects the news outright. “He could still be alive.” With haste, he mounts his horse.

“Seja-igwisa, you can’t leave!” The guard grabs ahold of the reins and pleads with him.

_"_ The hell I can’t! Step back at once, soldier!” Jongin bellows, drawing his sword swiftly from its sheath.

Sehun stumbles back and bows his head as he explains urgently. “The royal family has already accepted the death. The prince’s surviving brother... they’re holding the ceremony to promote him to the new crown prince in a few days time. You’ll be needed for preparations, to get acquainted with the new crown prince’s habits and--”

“There is but one crown prince, and my life and allegiance is forever to him. He still lives, I can feel it. And I will find him. Stall the ceremony if you can.”

“Stall the ceremony?” Sehun repeats, bewildered. “Please think this through, Seja-igwisa! If you leave and do not return with the crown prince, you may never be allowed to return to the palace. Worse yet, you may be considered a fugitive for leaving your duties here.”

_If I cannot return with Prince Kyungsoo, I have no desire to return to the palace anyway._ “If his Highness died because I was not here to protect him, my life is forfeit, for I will have failed to have done my sworn duty, and I’ll hold **myself** responsible.” With those final words, Jongin spurs his horse and gallops out of the palace gates, towards the river.

 

 

He reaches the woodlands where Kyungsoo regularly hunts for pheasant. Jongin’s been here a dozen times, maybe more, in the past several years. He frowns as he scans the area, bathed in moonlight but it's too difficult to see what he really needs to: tracks from horses, signs of foul play.

How could the crown prince have disappeared from sight without everyone noticing? Mounted on his black horse, in his rich indigo robes, looking majestic with his bow at the ready. How could anyone take their eyes off of him for even a moment?

 

 

He wishes he knew which guard had gone with Prince Kyungsoo to protect him. If that guard wasn’t already dead, he would be if Jongin ever crossed paths with him.

Finding nothing of interest amid the main copse of trees, Jongin turns for the cherry blossom tree overlooking the river.

Resting a hand on the tree’s trunk, he peers down at the moonlight reflecting off the water, and recalls a memory from earlier this month…

 

 

_~Flashback~_

_The royal tub had been filled with hot water that had been boiled until it was crystal clear. Jongin stood as close to the door as possible, eyes flitting over the room nervously. It was highly unusual that he be requested to stand guard_ **_inside_ ** _the bathing room. He generally waited in the hall, trying desperately to stay focused on any noises in the palace and not allow his thoughts to focus on the crown prince on the other side, disrobing, soaking in the water…_

 

 

_But right now, Prince Kyungsoo’s royal garments are being slid off his shoulders by two attendants and hung on the wooden stand along the wall, and Jongin cannot tear his eyes away from how well the soft white hanbok blends in with the prince’s porcelain skin._

_“Am I the only one who feels uncomfortable right now?” Kyungsoo says with a scowl toward the nearest of the four attendants._

_Jongin instantly lowers his head and wills his cheeks not to flush, praying the prince didn’t feel his stare._

 

 

_“Your Highness,” the highest ranking attendant says, gesturing to help the prince with his undergarments. “We are only here to help. The queen simply wants everyone to be safe with all the additional guests in the palace and look their best with the extra attention on the royal family during the festival.”_

_“I’ve bathed without interference for ages. I don’t care if the palace festival has called for increased security, I don’t need you in my bathtub, Jongdae.” Kyungsoo gestures at them all. “You’ve been suffocating today. Everyone, leave.”_

_They all bow and turn toward the door._

_“Except you, Jongin.”_

 

 

_Jongin is convinced he’s imagined the words, pure wishful thinking. He stands beside the door, watching the attendants leave and making a move to follow the final one. Jongdae shoos him away from the doorway before sliding it shut. “Security stays, or the queen will truly have all our heads."_

_Jongin licks over his lips nervously, unsure if he should turn around or continue facing the wall for the duration of what is likely to be the longest half hour of his life. With a tentative glance to the side, he sees the crown prince toss more rose petals into the tub and start to untie his white jeogori. Jongin snaps his head back toward the door, blinking rapidly and trying to remain calm. He hears the water slosh behind him as the prince climbs into the tub and resolves to not move another muscle unless ordered to._

 

 

_He hears a swear followed by a groan. “No way…”_  
  
_“What’s wrong, Your Highness?” Jongin asks, chancing a quick look over his shoulder to make sure there’s no serious problem. He sees the crown prince submerged, only head visible from where Jongin currently stands, and relaxes, turning fully around and scanning the room._  
  
_“In my haste to dismiss the help, I forget to have someone untie my manggeon and let out my sangtu.” The headband is indeed still wrapped tightly around Kyungsoo’s forehead, ornamental decorations also still in place. The prince drapes himself forward across the tub edge, bare arms and shoulders now visible with drops of water clinging to the skin. “Would you help me?”_  


__

 

_Jongin cautiously approaches the bath, lowering himself to his knees so that his eyes are level with Kyungsoo’s and cannot catch an inappropriate view of his body. With trembling hands, he removes the gwanja holding the manggeon in place by the prince’s temples, fingertips inadvertently stroking Kyungsoo’s sideburns in the process. He can feel the crown prince’s eyes on him, almost studying him, as he unwraps the headband. Flustered, Jongin tries to move faster, undoing the gold donggot and quickly releasing Kyungsoo’s long, dark hair so that it spills down his shoulders._

_Jongin sucks in a small gasp of air, marveling at how the raven hair seems to accentuate the prince’s handsome features. When Jongin’s eyes travel up the elegant slope of his nose, they meet Kyungsoo’s and he realizes a second too late that the prince is still watching him._

 

__

 

_He fumbles with the headgear sitting his lap, not sure if he should apologize and admit he was staring or pretend like it never happened. He coughs and stands to place the items on the dresser along the wall of the room._

_“It needs to be brushed out.” The crown prince’s voice is casual, and yet still commanding. “Bring the comb from the drawer.”_

_Jongin locates the comb and walks back to the tub, offering it politely while averting his eyes (which are still picking up too much milky skin in their periphery)._

_Kyungsoo gives a soft laugh and speaks with that inviting, candid tone. “The festival preparations have left me exhausted, and the queen will certainly quarrel with me if I don’t do a thorough job of making myself presentable for tomorrow. Can I trouble you to brush it for me?”_

_He could require it. He could order it, and Jongin would naturally have to oblige. But Kyungsoo speaks to him not as a royal instructing a servant, but a friend asking a favor. Jongin doesn’t trust his voice, so he simply nods once and kneels beside the tub._

_He hesitates several times, hardly believing he’s allowed to_ touch _the crown prince, but Jongin eventually sweeps along Kyungsoo’s nape to gather all of the luscious locks into his left hand, holding them carefully as he runs the comb through the lower ends first._

 

 

_“Are you looking forward to the festivities tomorrow?” Kyungsoo asks conversationally._

_Jongin continues to pull the comb gently through the crown prince’s long hair as they talk, enjoying the silky feel of it in his hands. “Yes, the palace always looks especially beautiful with all the lantern decorations.” He pauses and then chances a question of his own. “Do you have a favorite part of the day?”_

_“Meal time,” Kyungsoo replies drolly, eyes fluttering closed as if he’s imagining the food (or maybe enjoying the way Jongin’s now dragging the comb against his scalp). “The special rice cakes they prepare for the new season are especially good, don’t you think?”_

_Jongin uses his fingers to untangle a particularly thick knot in one section of the hair, taking care that it doesn’t pull or cause the prince any discomfort. “Ah, I know the ones you mean, but I’ve never had the pleasure of tasting one,” he admits. Royal food isn’t exactly easy to come by._

_Kyungsoo blinks his eyes open to look at Jongin. “That’s a shame. I’ll save one for you tomorrow.” He shifts in the water, sending the rose petals swirling around. The movement catches Jongin's eye before he realizes he's looked over in time to see the faint curve of the prince's bottom beneath the petals and--  
_

_Jongin blushes and hastily refocuses on combing. “That’s really not necessary.”_

_“Think of it as a thank you for doing this favor for me,” the prince replies, letting his eyes fall back shut. He wears a blissful smile on his face as Jongin continues to comb in a slow, steady pattern. It’s mesmerizing, watching Kyungsoo so close up with such a rare, relaxed expression on his usually stoic face._

_Jongin is convinced the prince has dozed off after a few minutes of this, plush lips lightly parted. Jongin smiles to himself, enjoying the quiet moment and committing every detail to memory: The softness of his hair, the angles of his eyebrows, the darkness of his lashes. Long after the tangles have all been brushed out, he continues to half-comb, half-pet the prince’s hair, to stretch time as long as he can._

 

 

_Jongin lets his fingers card through the crown of Kyungsoo’s head a few more times, until he’s convinced his heart should be more than satisfied. (Though it’s not and likely never will be, thudding loudly in his chest to the beat of “once-more, once-more” as he pulls his hands reluctantly away.)_

_He rises to put the comb back and is startled by the prince’s voice._

_“Thank you,” Kyungsoo murmurs softly, eyes still closed._

_Flushed, Jongin walks to the dresser and places the comb in the drawer. Facing away from the crown prince, he lets the sincere words tumble from his lips._

_“Anything for you, Your Highness.”_

_Jongin thinks he hears a sigh before there’s a loud slosh in the tub. A quick glance over his shoulder reveals that Kyungsoo has fully submerged under the water, bubbles rising to the surface from where he exhales. Jongin faces the door dutifully while the crown prince finishes bathing in silence._

_'Anything for you, Your Highness.’_ Jongin resurfaces from the memory, holding on to that last sentiment. It’s past midnight, and the air is growing cold. But it matters not. He can waste no time sleeping or waiting for sunrise. His prince is out here, somewhere, and Jongin can’t rest until he finds him. He turns his horse and heads for a path down to the river.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos are always appreciated! <3 This fic is completed - I've just been swamped lately. I will continue to xpost to here in series of ~3k chapters.
> 
> Talk with me in the comments! :) And hit me up on Twitter if you enjoy spazzing over EXO and Kaisoo.
> 
> at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	2. Chapter 2

Jongin walks his horse back and forth along the riverbank, a solid 20 meters beneath the cherry blossom tree, searching in the bright moonlight for any sign of a fall. The makeshift ‘path’ is so narrow, a person could easily fall or jump and miss the ledge here completely, tumbling into the river directly, but Jongin’s mind refuses to focus on that possibility.

 

 

Spying an irregularity ahead on the dirt shoreline, Jongin quickly dismounts his horse and goes to inspect it up close.

 

Rocks. Several dozen rocks the size of his fist cluster together in a haphazard pattern. Jongin peers up the cliff’s edge, trying to determine if there was a rock slide. The debris is consistent with the cliff’s wall, although the jagged patterns of the wall make it impossible to tell if the breaks are new or old.

 

He checks the trail of the rocks and notices they reach a bush, slightly misshapen. Jongin checks the branches: freshly broken on one side. It’s possible, then, that the prince fell or slid down the cliff’s face and this bush helped break his fall. Jongin’s heart rate picks up, flooded with hope.

 

But then… where. Where would he have gone?

 

Just as Jongin is about to stand back up from his crouched position, he hears his horse whinny, startled by something. Or someone.

 

Jongin’s hand flies to his sword as he keeps hidden behind the bush. He hears cautious footsteps creep closer and closer, and Jongin’s blood pounds in his ears trying to decipher: friend or foe?

 

Taking no chances, he stands with sword drawn, prepared to fight. “Who goes there?”

 

A man in elegant robes gasps and hops backward, drawing his sword in turn. “Halt!”

 

The two size each other up, recognizing each other’s faces shortly thereafter.

 

Jongin sighs with relief, putting away his sword. “Junmyeon.”

 

His friend, an officer from the bureau of investigation, sheaths his sword as well. “Jongin, what are you doing out here? I thought you were due back at the palace tonight.”

 

 

“I heard the crown prince was missing the minute I arrived at the gate.”

 

“...and immediately came to find him.” Junmyeon gives a sympathetic smile. “Truly, there’s a reason why you are Seja-igwisa.”

 

Jongin brushes the comment off, feeling wholly undeserving of the position at present. “What do you know?”

 

“Officially, just the story circulating within the palace. The crown prince went hunting, chased game too ambitiously, and fell into the river when his horse pulled up at the cliff. He is presumed drowned.”

 

“But were there any witnesses??”

 

“The servants in attendance can only attest that His Highness charged off suddenly and they could not keep pace. Only the royal guard that was on horseback accompanying the crown prince was able to race after him. He was the one who relayed the news of the cliff fall to the Vice Premier and--” Junmyeon gulped before finishing his sentence. “...was instantly killed for failing to protect the prince.”

 

The wind whips through the river canyon and chills Jongin to the bone. “So the only witness… is dead.”

 

“That’s correct.”

 

“Who was it?” Jongin asks stoically.

 

“Minseok.”

 

 

Jongin lowers his head, taking a moment to acknowledge the passing of one of his guards. Minseok was a sensible choice, to stick close to Prince Kyungsoo while he was away. He had served the royal family for years. The wheels turn in Jongin’s mind, questioning if Minseok was a victim, if he deserved death for not saving the crown prince… or if he was involved more intimately in his disappearance.

 

“Jongin, you need to go back to the palace.” Junmyeon voice carries a pleading note to it.

 

“No.”

 

“If you do not return when expected, they may begin to suspect you were involved.”

 

Jongin turns his piercing eyes upon Junmyeon. “I would _never_ \--”

 

“I know you wouldn’t. I know how sincerely devoted you are to the prince,” he soothes.

 

 _You only know half of it, friend._ Jongin purses his lips, holding back his full emotions for Prince Kyungsoo, as he always does.

 

“But it will do no good for you to be written off as a treasonous guard.”

 

“You’re out here in the middle of the night,” Jongin counters. “You don’t believe His Highness is dead either, do you?”

 

“I… I don’t believe we have the full story. So I am here doing my duty and investigating.”

 

“And I, likewise. I took an oath to protect the Crown Prince until the day I die, and I intend to fulfill my promise.”

 

“It is said there will be a new crown prince in a mere few days,” Junmyeon says softly.

 

Jongin snarls. “And why does that not disturb every last person who lives or serves in the palace??”

 

“It _does_ disturb some people. But not as many as it should.” Junmyeon holds his hands up, defensively as Jongin tenses through his broad shoulders. “You know the crown prince’s demeanor is not exactly… warm.”

 

“What of it.”

 

“ _You_ are fond of him, but surely you know that you share a different kind of closeness with His Highness than, well, anyone else does. He keeps even his own family members distant by comparison.”

 

Under different circumstances, Jongin might have felt a warm pride over these outsider observations. But at present, it simply leaves him heartbroken. “Are you suggesting no one in his family or the king’s court is likely to object to a new crown prince? That everyone is anxious to usher out His Highness and welcome his half-brother to the throne instead?”

 

 

“Not no one. But those of us who object must operate very carefully. Hence why I’m out here at this late hour and not midday.”

 

Jongin looks to the lonesome moon in the sky. “Sehun knows I returned this evening. I asked him to stall the ceremony. Will he? You know him much better than I.”

 

Junmyeon splutters at this, tripping over his words and refusing to look at Jongin. “I-- I wouldn’t say necessarily say that. Our fathers are friends, so we sometimes meet, that’s all.”

 

Jongin ignores the light blush on his friend’s cheek, pressing on the more important matter. “Do you think Sehun will try to help? Is he on the true crown prince’s side?”

 

“Yes.” Junmyeon says with certitude. “Yes, he is.”

 

Jongin nods. “There are others in the royal guard you can trust. Doyoung and Jaehyun, they have sincere allegiance to the Crown Prince. I’m confident they would help protect his honor and throne. Tell them I sent you, and that I won’t give up until I find His Highness. They’ll follow your lead in whatever diversions you can conjure up to delay a new coronation.”

 

 

“I assume there’s nothing I’ll be able to say or do to get you to return with me,” Junmyeon sighs.

 

A firm shake of the head is all the answer Jongin provides. “I don’t think the Crown Prince was out here hunting pheasant.”

 

“What? Why? That seems to be the one thing that we _do_ know is true.”

 

 _Because he told me he’d stay inside the palace walls while I was gone_ …

 

_~Flashback~_

_Jongin stood before the Crown Prince in his chambers, small satchel in hand with his travel needs. Kyungsoo sat writing in his personal journal, almost ready to turn in for the evening._

 

_“I thought you left already,” the prince said, not looking up from his books._

 

 

_Jongin fidgeted with the satchel’s handle. “I’ve told the guards to send for your tea each night when you start your bath and ensure the physician has your medicine readied then, too.”_

 

_Kyungsoo gave a quiet sound of amusement, pausing to look up at him with a smirk upon his lips. “Is that your indirect way of telling me to take my medicine and go to bed on time like a good little prince while you’re gone?”_

 

_Flushed, Jongin dropped his gaze to the floor._

 

_“I’m not a child, Jongin,” he teased._

 

_“Of course not, Your Highness. I--” Jongin stopped, mid-breath._

 

_“You?” Kyungsoo prodded him. Jongin raised his eyes from the floor to notice the crown prince gazing at him curiously, expectant for him to finish his thought._

 

‘I’ll miss you.’ _Jongin swallowed the words. This honest feeling was much too intimate to express._

 

_“I wish for your health and safety while I’m away,” he says formally, remembering his place._

 

_Kyungsoo stares a few long moments at him before replying. “And I for yours. Have a good visit with your family and please take the package prepared by the door with you.”_

 

_Jongin glanced over his shoulder and spied a small bundle, wrapped in blue and gold silk. He turned back with a questioning look to his prince._

 

_“Just a few of the nicer soaps and herbs from Hanyang, as gifts for your parents.”_

 

 

 

_Jongin’s jaw dropped open a bit in surprise before he closed it and bowed low. “That is much too generous. I cannot in good conscience accept it.”_

 

_“Of course you can.”_

 

_“No, I really shouldn’t--”_

 

_Kyungsoo sighed, putting down his calligraphy brush and shifting as though to stand. “Am I going to have to get up and personally put it in your hand?”_

 

 

_Quickly, Jongin fetched the package before Kyungsoo could rise. “Thank you,” he murmured quietly. The feel of the silk wrapping, smooth against his fingers, reminded him too much of the way the crown prince’s hair felt the night he brushed it. Jongin needed to leave right away or he may never be able to bring himself to go. “I’ll… take my leave now. Stay safe.”_

 

_“You already said that,” Kyungsoo replied, smile upon his lips. “If it’ll put your mind at ease, I won’t step foot beyond the palace walls. Now go.”_

 

_Jongin nodded in acknowledgement, unable to hide his pleased expression. And with a final farewell, he left._

 

Perhaps Jongin puts too much stock in what his prince said to him, a simple servant, that night. A royal certainly would not be held to any promises of this sort, if he wanted to change his mind. But Kyungsoo’s voice when he said it… it was that special tone he used only with him. Deep in Jongin’s heart, he believes Kyungsoo would’ve kept his word, if possible, and not go out simply for sport.

 

“I just don’t think he left the palace to hunt,” he tells Junmyeon simply, wanting to preserve the privacy he shares with his prince. His voice is firm enough, Junmyeon doesn’t press the issue.

 

Jongin points to the debris at his feet. “These rocks, this bush… if His Highness did go over the ledge, I wonder if he was able to break his fall here.”

 

Junmyeon looks carefully at the broken branches and nods. “Seems plausible. But why did Minseok not find him if so?”

 

With a clenched jaw, Jongin grits out, “We have to consider the possibility that he didn’t bother to look.”

 

The moonlight shines off of Junmyeon’s widening eyes. “You think Minseok…”

 

“Or the vice premier. Or both. I don’t know.”

 

“But why?”

 

Jongin grasps Junmyeon on the shoulder. “These are questions for your investigation. Palace politics is not my domain. I’ll leave you to it.” He walks back to his horse and mounts it swiftly. “Give me one week. I’ll send word via messenger if I find any sign of hope that you should stall longer than that.”

 

 

With a resigned sigh, Junmyeon nods. “They’ve been searching toward the south, following the river’s current in hopes of recovering a body, but found no sign of him,” he explains. “If the Crown Prince’s fall was no accident, and he managed to stay out of the water here, perhaps…”

 

Jongin turns his horse northward, toward Mount Chunwoo. “Perhaps he was wise enough to run the opposite direction to escape.”

 

 

Prince Kyungsoo had a day and a half head start on him. While part of Jongin wants to ride as hard as he can to feel as though he’s making progress, darting off in the wrong direction won’t bring him any closer to his prince. So Jongin keeps his horse at a slow trot and tries to consider Kyungsoo’s situation: He was on foot, in his royal hunting garb, and likely running on adrenaline away from danger. Scaling back up the side of the cliff that he came from was nearly impossible, and his attacker (or attackers) would be waiting on that side anyway.

 

His best options would’ve been following the river north for several kilometers into the mountainous woods straight ahead to find coverage among the trees, or crossing the river to seek asylum in one of the neighboring towns on the other side.

 

The woods would be a very temporary solution. All alone, with no resources, how long would the crown prince be able to survive and stay in hiding? With no sense of when he could emerge safely since he’d have no access to news about what was happening in the palace?

 

No, the mountain wouldn’t do, and the crown prince would be wise enough to come to this conclusion as well. Surely, sometime after his initial sprint away from the scene, Kyungsoo would’ve been looking to cross the river and find his way into a town.

 

 

So as the river’s current slows down to stiller waters, so does Jongin, until he eventually stops, needing sunlight in order to determine the river’s depth. He slips off his horse, patting along her neck. “Rest. Just an hour or two, and the sun will be up.” He sits, back against the cliff wall, with the reins in one hand and the grip of his sword in the other. In a few minutes, he dozes in a fitful sleep.

 

He wakes with the first rays of light and his horse nudging at his cheek. Splashing some cold water on his face, Jongin peers down into the river and still can’t see the bottom. Time to keep moving.

 

 

After passing a section of still waters that look for too deep for a non-swimmer to cross, the current seems to pick up again, much to Jongin’s dismay. Did he miss it? Was there a passable section he overlooked in the night? Just as he’s starting to wonder if he should turn around and retrace his steps, the sound of roaring water has his ears perking up. Waterfall.

 

He rides faster, finding the waterfall in no time. Jongin’s heart races - this is it. There must be a small cove hidden behind the cascade of water, which would serve as a perfect temporary hideout. 

 

He dismounts so quickly he almost tumbles into the spray in his haste. Ducking into the cove, not tall enough for a man to stand at full height, Jongin scans the space. There is a large boulder in the back left corner, obscuring his view. He scrambles over to check behind it and--

 

 

On the ground lay a neatly folded robe. A royal robe that Jongin recognizes immediately because it is one of his favorite’s on Kyungsoo, one he’s had the privilege of seeing him wear hundreds of times. And it’s stained with blood.

 

“Your Highness!” Jongin’s cry echoes off the cove walls, and goes unanswered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no... :'( Where is our dear prince?
> 
> More next week :-* Thanks for reading! Kudos are always appreciated. Talk with me in the comments! :) And hit me up on Twitter if you enjoy spazzing over EXO and Kaisoo.
> 
> at1stsoo
> 
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	3. Chapter 3

Panic rolls through Jongin. He’s injured. His crown prince is injured somewhere, and Jongin’s not there to protect him. He needs to hurry.

The cove connects one side of the river to another, so Jongin emerges on the far bank and looks back across the river to his horse. He whistles for her to come, but she whinnies, stepping her hooves in place.

Frustrated, Jongin darts back through the cove to return to her side. She can’t fit through the short entrance, so through the river she’ll have to go. He removes his travel satchel that’s still attached to her saddle to keep it dry. In fact…

He re-enters the cove and removes his own change of clothes from the satchel to make space for the royal hanbok. Carefully, he packs the bloodied garment in his bag and leaves behind his own in its place. In the event any enemies come searching for Kyungsoo, they’ll find only commoner clothes here.

Knowing he’ll need to get wet, Jongin tosses the satchel onto the far bank and strips down to just his sokgoui before crossing back over and grabbing the horse’s reins firmly in his hand. “Come on, girl,” he coaxes, leading her into the water to swim across. She resists at first, clearly not wanting to enter the river, but eventually relents.

She swims reluctantly, Jongin tugging and leading her along as he swims to the other bank, the weight on his arm triggering a memory from a few months past…

_ _

_ ~Flashback~ _

_ He was accompanying Prince Kyungsoo and his attendants as they walked through the palace gardens, shoes stepping through the light dust of snow on the ground. Jongin trailed several steps behind the crown prince, not minding the brisk air of late winter. Kyungsoo enjoyed leisurely strolls whenever it meant he could avoid indoor engagements with the palace officials whom he almost uniformly despised.  _

_ As they crossed a bridge over the pond, the prince suddenly spoke. “Oh, the cherry tree has blossomed early.” _

_ Pleasantly surprised, he took a step toward the tree to get a better look, not remembering he where he was. Kyungsoo’s shin hit the low railing of the bridge, and in the blink of an eye, he was stumbling forward. _

_ Jongin rushed over and reached out to catch him, managing to snag Kyungsoo’s belt and stall his fall long enough to wrap an arm around the prince’s waist, but the momentum carried them both over the side of the bridge and splashing into the cold waters below. _

_ Jongin pulled them up to the surface immediately. “Your Highness! Are you okay?” he asked, treading water while holding Kyungsoo afloat with a strong arm around his middle, tugging him closer. _

_ He didn’t get a direct response, but Kyungsoo looked at him with an indecipherable gaze, and then gave a simple nod. Their faces much too close for Jongin’s comfort, his eyes snagged on the prince’s plush lower lip, and Jongin jolted himself into action before wayward thoughts could consume him. “Hold on to me,” he suggested, starting to swim sidestroke. _

_ Kyungsoo’s arms laced around his back, and Jongin headed for the nearest edge of the pond, where the crown prince’s gaggle of attendants swarmed, all in a panic. _

_ “I’m sorry, Highness,” Jongin heaved out between heavy breaths as he swam. “I should’ve caught you before you fell.” They were clutched tightly together as Jongin moved through the frigid waters, their bodies surging forward and lulling back in rhythm with his sidestroke. With their close proximity, he could feel Kyungsoo’s warm breath on his cheek and Kyungsoo’s body tremble in his arms. “It’s so cold. You must be so uncomfortable,” he said apologetically. _

_ “No,” Kyungsoo said softly. “I’m okay. It’s… refreshing.” _

_ Jongin chuckled at the ridiculousness of that claim. He tried to tuck Kyungsoo ever closer to keep him warm, but the more snugly he held the prince, the more he seemed to tremble in his arms, their legs accidentally tangling a few times with Jongin’s scissor kicks. _

_ When they reached the side, Jongin helped him onto the shore and got a quiet, “Thank you,” just before the attendants rushed their prince and quickly took him away for a steam bath and a check-up by the palace physician. _

 

Physician… The crown prince needs to see a physician as soon as possible for his wounds but also--

Jongin stumbles out of the river and falls onto his knees, gasping in shock as realization hits him. His medicine. Kyungsoo hasn’t been able to take his nightly medicine for his heart arrhythmia.

Jongin scrambles to get dressed and get on the move again. His horse can cover ground quickly now in the simple, grassy foothills on this side of the river. He uses it to his full advantage, galloping in long sweeping pathways alongside the river and gradually further out, searching desperately for any signs of Kyungsoo. 

A patch of blood on the vivid green grass catches his attention. Luckily, there is no continuous trail, suggesting the prince likely stumbled here rather than his wound was bleeding so freely that it couldn’t be contained... Jongin bites his lip and focuses through watery eyes to determine the trajectory of Kyungsoo’s path from the cove to the bloodied grass. He turns his horse to continue on the same line away from the river.

Finally, as he crests one of the hills, he can see two nearby towns, still several kilometers away. One is further north, the other straight ahead. Considering Kyungsoo is injured, Jongin gambles that he would’ve headed for the closest village, straight ahead.

He can only hope he made it.

  


Jongin tethers his horse just outside of the village and heads inside. Given how early in the day it is, the people seem to still be asleep, and the place is quiet. He heads for the center of town, stumbling upon the marketplace. No stalls are open yet, but a few merchants are starting to setup their wares. Jongin approaches the first shopkeeper on the corner that he sees.

“Excuse me, can you tell me where I can find the town physician?”

The young man snorts. “We don’t have one.”

Jongin’s eyes widen with shock. “You don’t?”

“No. Used to, but he left.” The man continues to set out his products, calligraphy brushes and inkwells, in a neat display as he speaks. “The best healer in Joseon lives in the neighboring town, and since it only takes two hours travel time, everyone just starting heading there for treatment instead.”

Crestfallen, Jongin wonders if Kyungsoo would have been able to make that journey after having traveled more than an hour by foot from the river while still bleeding. What if he collapsed along the way? He whirls around to leave as the man speaks again.

“Interesting that you’re the second stranger in two days to ask me that very question,” he says coyly.

Jongin freezes, turning back around and stepping close to the stall owner. “Someone else was looking for a doctor?”

“Yes. Was in a lot worse shape than you, I’d reckon.” The young man looks Jongin up and down. “Are you sick or injured?”

“The man who asked you yesterday- what did he look like? Where did he go after you spoke to him? How did--”

“Aigoo, you ask a lot of questions, nosy stranger. At least introduce yourself first. My name is Baekhyun.”

“J--” Jongin reconsiders offering his real name when he’s fled the palace without approval. “Jaemin.”

“Well, Jaemin, the man who asked me for the physician’s house was about our age. A little shorter than me. Handsome. Though not quite as handsome as yours truly,” Baekhyun said with a self-satisfied wink. 

“As for where he went after he asked the question, nowhere.” He steps further into his stall to retrieve more writing supplies from a storage box.

Jongin follows, hot on his trail, grabbing his arm to get his attention. “What do you mean nowhere? Is he still here, in town?”

“No, he dropped to the ground. Passed straight out.”

Jongin takes a sharp inhale and his grip involuntarily tightens further around Baekhyun’s bicep.

“Ow, ow! Relax, I didn’t just leave him for the buzzards. I took him to the physician in the neighboring town myself.” Baekhyun swats Jongin’s hand off his arm with a larger, ornamental calligraphy brush that looks more like a mop than a writing instrument. “I take it you know him?”

“Yes,” Jongin says tersely, letting go and making to leave. “If anyone else comes by inquiring, don’t tell them anything about this.”

Baekhyun scoffs. “And why should I listen to you? I already did a good deed for your friend by taking him to Yixing while he seemed on death’s door!” he complains stubbornly, pouting for good measure. “I’ll brag to whomever I like about it. Unless…”

Jongin sighs. He has no time for games, his heart willing his legs to run back to his horse as fast as he can to get to the crown prince. But he needs to cover their tracks as a safeguard. “What do you want?”

“Business was slow yesterday since I was closed all through lunch, taking your pal over yonder. Make it worth my while to keep quiet,” Baekhyun suggests, gesturing at his wares.

Jongin grabs the first calligraphy brush and small scroll within reach and says. “I’ll buy these.”

Baekhyun considers this, tsking his tongue. “But how will you use them without ink and a proper well?” He arches a sneaky eyebrow at him.

“Fine.” Jongin grabs both additional supplies, tossing more than half of the money in his coin purse on the table. “That should be more than enough for the goods and your silence. Speak of this incidence to no one.”

_ ‘He made it to a physician’s care.’ _ Jongin repeats the thought over and over again in his mind while he gallops to the northern town. The wind stings his eyes as he leans forward, urging his mare to go faster, faster.

This village is larger than the last, and has a proper stable setup near the southern gate that Jongin arrives at. It’s mid-morning now, with plenty of folks wandering around the village. Jongin gets directions to the physician’s house from the first person he crosses paths with, and goes with haste.

He raps loudly on the door and wills himself to be calm and collected as he waits for an answer.

The door creaks open and a man with kind and sleepy eyes peers out at him. “Hello? Can I help you?”

“Yes. A man was brought here yesterday for medical care, by Baekhyun from the nearby village.”

“Ah, yes.”

Jongin waits expectantly, holding his breath. But the physician does not provide more information. “Well is he okay??”

“I’m afraid I cannot discuss a patient’s care with just anyone who inquires.”

“I’m not just anyone, I’m his--” Jongin fumbles for an appropriate word, “his friend. His closest friend.”

Yixing leans in and studies him closely, examining his eyes and cheeks with a scrutinizing eye. “You seem fatigued and dehydrated. Come in and I’ll get you an herbal remedy,” he gestures, opening the door wider.

“It’s only because I’ve been searching for him, I don’t need-” Jongin starts to argue but stops when he realizes this is an opportunity to get inside the clinic and hopefully see the crown prince. He eagerly follows behind Yixing, who starts mumbling to himself as he stops in front of shelves of bottled herbs.

Jongin quickly scans the dark room and peeks around the corner to the check the back room. There are pallets for patients, but both are empty, and Jongin can’t be sure if this is a good or bad sign.

“Here we are. Come, sit while the tea brews, and I will take your pulse.”

“While I appreciate the concern, the best remedy for my ailments is for me to find His High-- my friend. I’ve not been able to eat, drink, or sleep properly because I am worried about him and his condition,” he pleads.

Yixing considers this and nods his head, apparently deeming him honest. “Well, he’ll should be back shortly and you can ask him about it yourself. Meanwhile, let me treat you.”

_ ‘He’ll be back shortly.’ _ Jongin keeps himself seated on the pallet, clinging to those words of hope. Yixing fusses about his high pulse rate and brings him the ginseng tea to drink. Jongin humors him, realizing as he sips the brew that he  _ is  _ quite thirsty. He’s had nothing to eat or drink since the day before, when he was having a farewell meal with his parents. The fact that he was busy laughing with his parents while his prince was suffering, trying to recuperate here in this physician’s house, stirs up immense guilt inside. He wasn’t there for the crown prince when he needed Jongin’s protection most.

As he’s silently torturing himself with this information, a loud voice in the courtyard catches his and Yixing’s attention.

“Ah, they’ve returned,” Yixing says with a smile, standing up.

Jongin scrambles quickly to his feet and walks to the front door with the physician, urgently pushing through the doorway. He sees a tall man carrying a sickle and laughing loudly approach Yixing, and behind him… is the crown prince, holding some wild ginseng by the tips of his fingers with distaste, trying to keep the dirt on the roots from touching the plain clothes he is wearing.

Jongin is so overcome with emotion, he blurts out without meaning to, “Kyungsoo!”

The prince startles, looks at him with an inscrutable look, and says, “My name is Wondeuk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh ho! O_O What now, Jongin?
> 
> Talk to me in the comments :)


	4. Chapter 4

Jongin stares in disbelief, trying to decipher if the crown prince is serious. Maybe he is trying to blend in and has taken an alias on purpose? After all, he posed as a Jaemin when speaking with Baekhyun.

But the way he’s holding the wild ginseng daintly away from his body with disgust doesn’t exactly help him fit in.

 

 

While Yixing and the man with the sickle exchange pleasantries, Jongin grabs a towel by the door and rushes to alleviate his prince of the grimy, fresh herbs. Kyungsoo turns them over to his care easily, muttering a soft  _ ‘thank you’  _ that sounds oh so familiar, Jongin could cry from happiness. Standing up close, he searches Kyungsoo’s eyes, hoping to find a wink or some outward tell that he recognizes him. Kyungsoo stares back just as intently, eyes roaming over Jongin’s face.

“I’m so relieved you’re safe,” Jongin whispers. 

“You are?” Kyungsoo murmurs in reply, voice uncertain.

“Of course. I was so worried--”

“Yah, so you’re Kyungsoo then!” The booming voice of the stranger interrupts their reunion.

Jongin whirls and glares daggers at the man who dares disrespect the Crown Prince by calling him by his given name so cavalierly.

“I’m Chanyeol, by the way,” he says in way of introduction to Jongin. “And I gave Wondeukkie here that nickname since I couldn’t just go around calling him ‘hey you.’ That’d be rude,” he says jovially, wrapping and arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulder in a friendly manner.

“Oh-ho!” Kyungsoo objects, shrugging off Chanyeol’s arm at the same time Jongin shoves the giant backward with a firm push to the chest, positioning himself protectively between his prince and this stranger. “Who said you could touch me?”

 

 

Chanyeol simply barks with laughter, looking back at the two of them glaring at him. “What village are you two from? It sounds terribly unfriendly.”

Kyungsoo looks uncertainly at Jongin. “I… I don’t remember.”

Well, that’s a terrible excuse that they’ll never believe. “We’re from a small town much further south,” Jongin half-lies. “And it’s customary there to  _ not _ touch people without their express permission.”

Kyungsoo stares at the ground for a moment, eyes flitting back and forth. “Ah, is that so?” He holds the side of his head, and Jongin steps closer to him, growing increasingly concerned.

“Are you okay? Are you in pain?” Jongin asks, semi-panicked.

Yixing interrupts. “He wasn’t able to give us his name when he came to.”

“Nor payment for our services,” Chanyeol says more seriously.

“I told you it’s not a big deal,” Yixing tells Chanyeol softly.

“The hell it isn’t. You’ve let yourself be taken advantage of too many times. The least he could do is help replace the medicines he required from your stash.”

 

 

“So you made him go walking around the mountain? When he’s still recovering??” Jongin advances on Chanyeol, hand moving instinctively toward the sword at his side.

“Recovering,” Chanyeol rolls his eyes. “I’ve suffered worse from a tumble down Mount Chunwoo before and been back to work the same day.”

Seething, Jongin doesn’t realize he’s half-way drawn his sword until he feels Yixing’s gentle hand on his wrist. “Most of his injuries were superficial abrasions, treated and virtually healed by the evening,” the physician quickly explains. “But the gash on his head seems to be giving him more problems,” he adds with a frown, tiptoeing and looking past Jongin’s shoulder at Kyungsoo.

Forgetting the nuisance that is Chanyeol, Jongin turns back around to see Kyungsoo starting to waver on his feet. “I think I…” 

Kyungsoo starts to faint, toppling forward, and Jongin rushes to catch him in his arms.

 

 

Jongin carries Kyungsoo into the clinic, laying him down on the nicer pallet and ordering someone to get a better pillow for his head. A deep red splotch of blood blooms near the cloth manggeon wrapped around the prince’s forehead.

Yixing shoos him out of the way and checks Kyungsoo’s wound. “I’ll make another salve. It shouldn’t be this persistent.”

 

  


 

“He has a heart arrhythmia! He usually takes a nightly medicine for it. He hasn’t had it for at least two days,” Jongin explains, tapping his own forehead harshly, trying to recall what the palace physician called the remedy.

Yixing’s eyes go wide and he speaks to Chanyeol, hanging back in the corner of the room, arms crossed and looking a bit regretful. “Bring me the yarrow and ginkgo biloba. I’ll get the water boiled. This is more urgent than the salve.” Yixing stands to leave for the kitchen area, and Jongin grips his arm as he passes.

“Is he going to be okay?” he asks fearfully.

“Yes, I think he will be fine once he has the necessary remedies. The irregularity of his heart is likely contributing to both the fainting and the bleeding. Apply some pressure to the wound for now.” Yixing moves to leave again, and Jongin lets him go this time.

Alone in the room with Kyungsoo, Jongin sinks to his knees beside his unconscious prince, feeling helpless. He undoes the manggeon, folding it over on itself and pressing it gently against the wound to stem the bleeding and help it clot. Jongin’s eyes well, and he wipes at them fiercely.

 

  


 

“Highness, you said you would take your medicine like a good little prince while I was gone,” he tries to tease, in an effort to hold back the tears. Kyungsoo’s lip seems to almost tick up at the corner, into the playful half-smile he’d sometimes bestow upon Jongin when they had their private talks. But those happy moments seem so far away right now. 

“You said you’d stay inside the palace walls, too.” The exhaustion and stress overwhelms Jongin, and a soft sob spills over unbidden. “You… you’d better wake up and make it up to me, okay?”

 

  


 

There’s a suspiciously loud clatter of bottles in the other room before Chanyeol clomps into the room, heavy footfalls announcing his approach. Jongin quickly composes himself as the man clears his throat.

“I got Yixing all the ingredients he needs to help your friend. He’s almost done brewing it,” he says, picking at his fingernails. “I’m, I’m sorry I pushed him to go out to the mountain before he was fully healed.”

 

  


 

Jongin nods curtly.

“Yixing has a really kind heart and has been ripped off too many times, is all. He deserves so much more than practicing out of this small hut in this kind of town. He’s got what it takes to be a Hanyang physician, but he’s never been willing to ask for the wages and respect he’s rightfully owed,” Chanyeol explains, scowling at the floor.

“I understand.” Jongin pulls out his coin purse, removes a few pun he knows he’ll need for later in the market, and hands the rest to Chanyeol. “Take whatever Yixing should charge for my friend’s care. And if he needs his herbs to be restocked, send me to the mountain.” He looks fondly at Kyungsoo, asleep at his feet. “But never ask it of him again, understood? I will work in his place.”

 

Chanyeol nods his agreement. “After lunch, we should search for more ginkgo biloba because we only have enough for two more batches of what Yixing’s about to give him.” The front door swings open, and the physician carries in a steaming bowl with a small wooden spoon.

 

  


 

“His regular medicine is fed to him in a small cake and followed by oolong tea for aiding digestion,” Jongin says, not trying to be difficult but concerned by the different method.

Yixing waves his hand at this. “Unnecessary finery that makes it less potent. Help me get some of this in him. Could you prop him up?” He’s speaking to Chanyeol, but Jongin quickly moves to the head of Kyungsoo’s pallet and Chanyeol makes no objection, politely excusing himself to go start the rice for lunch.

“Okay, sit him up at a 45 degree angle,” Yixing instructs.

Reverently, Jongin holds Kyungsoo by the nape of the neck and gently slides the pillow out from underneath his head. Slowly, he uses his other hand on Kyungsoo’s back to raise the prince at the requested angle, sturdy arms securing him in place.

“Just move to sit behind him so he lays back on your chest - your arms will tire out before I’ve spooned all of this into his mouth, otherwise.”

Flushing, Jongin shifts behind Kyungsoo as told, legs on either side of the prince’s hips, and lowers him so that Kyungsoo’s back is sloped against his chest. Jongin braces one arm behind him to hold them at the proper angle and has to wrap his other arm across Kyungsoo’s chest to keep him secured. His heart is beating so fast, he’s sure His Highness would be able to feel it if he were awake.

 

 

“Tip his head this way so I can feed him the remedy,” Yixing requests.

Jongin carefully shifts Kyungsoo’s head so it looks toward Yixing, the prince’s temple now resting along Jongin’s jawline to keep it from sliding too far. The warm, heavy weight of his beloved prince pressed against his chest this way, face so intimately close and touching his own, is so intoxicating, Jongin finds his poor heart pining worse than it ever has before.

He might need some of that heart medication, too, if they stay this way for too long.

Yixing blows the steam off of the liquid mixture and feeds a spoonful to the unconscious prince. Most of it goes down, but a few dribbles spill out the side of Kyungsoo’s mouth, which Yixing quickly dabs away with a clean cloth.

“Try massaging his throat to help it go down more easily,” he suggests to Jongin as he brings another spoonful to the prince’s lips.

 

  


 

With the tips of his fingers, Jongin strokes down Kyungsoo’s throat, to the side of his Adam’s apple, repeating the tender motion until he feels the muscles respond and swallow the medicine down. Jongin tries not to let his mind wander into dangerous territory, but it goes there anyway. It’s too easy to imagine different circumstances where he’d want to hold Kyungsoo in his arms like this and be able to freely caress his neck. He’s never felt such soft skin...

 

They continue the process of Yixing bringing the brew to his mouth and Jongin petting down Kyungsoo’s neck until half the brew is gone and it seems as though the prince is starting to drink a bit on his own.

“Is-- is he awake?” Jongin asks Yixing, unsure if he should rapidly extricate himself from his intimate position behind Kyungsoo.

Yixing looks closely and shakes his head no. “Not fully conscious yet, but his body is already starting to respond to the medicine, which is a good sign.”

Jongin smiles and continues to hold him, just happy to help his prince’s condition improve in any way he can. “Good job,” he murmurs encouragingly by Kyungsoo’s forehead, still resting against his own jaw. The temptation to press a kiss to his temple is almost unbearable, but Jongin reminds himself of his duty and how highly inappropriate such contact would be. Even if his lips are only millimeters away.

 

  


 

They finish off the medicine, and Jongin shifts out from behind Kyungsoo, careful to lay his body back down gently onto the pallet. Chanyeol pokes his head in to announce that lunch is ready, and Yixing goes to wash the used bowl and spoon.

“I pulled out the gear for our mountain trek,” Chanyeol tells him. He looks skyward and warns Jongin, “We should eat quickly and go because it might rain later this afternoon.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in just a moment,” Jongin says.

Chanyeol gives him a small smile and leaves. Jongin’s heart aches at the thought of leaving Kyungsoo’s side for even a moment now that he’s found him, but he knows it’s necessary to aid his recovery. The prince is already looking better now that he’s had the treatment. He leans in close to Kyungsoo’s ear and whispers softly:

“Rest, Highness. I promise I’ll return to you soon.”

 

They hike up Mount Chunwoo and search for medicinal plants to harvest. Chanyeol asks curiously, “So, what happened to your friend that made him get hurt so far from home?”

Jongin frowns while trying to prune off some herbs. “I wish I knew. Did he tell you anything earlier?”

 

 

“No, he said he couldn’t remember.”

Couldn’t, or didn’t want to reveal his identity? Amnesia would be a convenient excuse to avoid more prying from the locals, Jongin reasons. 

“Is he an only child?”

He isn’t comfortable sharing information on the crown prince when he’s still not sure how much he can trust Chanyeol, but the question is neutral enough that there’s no excuse not to answer. “No, he has a brother. Why?”

“I just think it’s interesting that his friend came looking for him instead of a family member, that’s all. You two must be really close.”

“His brother is… indisposed at the moment.” Jongin grits his teeth as he answers, managing to cut clean through the branch with his next whack. It feels satisfying. “And yes,” he says softly, “we spend a lot of time together.” 

Visions of watching over Kyungsoo as he goes about his day within the palace flash through his mind.  _ I’m privileged to be with him all day, every day, and wouldn’t have it any other way. _

 

_ _

 

“I see.” They work in relative silence after that, gathering a bountiful amount of medicinal herbs between the two of them. The rain holds off, allowing them to toil for a few hours before calling it quits.

“I need to visit the market to send a letter back to our hometown,” Jongin explains as they hike back down the mountain, heavy laden with their finds.

“Sure, I can show you the way.” Chanyeol guides them through the village to the market stall where he can use a messenger service, dropping him off to go make a few food purchases from other stalls.

 

 

“What would you like the message to say?” asks the merchant.

He needs to keep in vague in case it gets intercepted by the wrong people. Jongin ponders a moment before dictating, “ _ The tree has survived the storm, but is fragile from pruning and cannot be uprooted at this time. Update to follow soon. _ ”

He pays for the letter to reach Junmyeon at his personal residence and hopes things are going okay at the palace.

 

 

Chanyeol rejoins him with rice and fish they can make for dinner, and they head back to Yixing’s. The sun is just starting to set as they arrive with their heavy loads, and Jongin is greeted with an unlikely but beautiful sight of his prince sitting on the wall outside the clinic, waiting.

Kyungsoo notices them approach and turns to them, eyes unmistakably settling on Jongin as a smile spreads across the prince’s face. “You’re back.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, our prince is up! :) Did you squeal during Jongin's intimate snuggle behind Kyungsoo while helping him swallow down his medicine? A limp prince laying on his guard: Jongin was kjshfdsl inside XD Hope you could feel his butterflies :-*
> 
> Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays! Talk with me in the comments and/or hit me up on Twitter!
> 
> at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't do many edits to photos for this fic, but I did a few and please know they are not meant to look HQ. (I am NOT a fanartist by any stretch of the imagination.) Enjoy the LQ paint jobs as part of the humor when they're mixed in. <3

Every fiber in Jongin’s body wants to bow or even kneel before his crown prince, grateful to see him looking healthy, but the A-frame full of herbs on his back prevent him from doing more than a simple head dip in greeting. Which in retrospect is a good thing, since it’d be hard to explain kneeling before one’s… friend.

“Ah, see? I told you he seemed fine this morning.” Chanyeol says with a grin. “Good as new again.”

“How are you feeling?” Jongin asks, rushing to set down his load and look over the prince, checking to see his skin tone and general princely posture are back to normal. (He looks perfect, but Jongin frets anyway.) “Are you sure you should be up?”

Kyungsoo grins, amused by how Jongin is checking him over, as Yixing emerges from the house and greets them. “Ah, I told him to stay laying down for longer, but he told me to mind my own business, in informal language even,” the physician chuckles.

“He did what?” Chanyeol scowls.

“I wanted to see you,” Kyungsoo says, ignoring the others and speaking directly to Jongin with an adoring smile on his lips. 

It’s so disarmingly forward, Jongin’s not sure what to say, tripping over his words a bit in reply. “Ye-yes, I’ve been anxious to see you, too, but if the doctor thinks you should still be in bed, then you should rest, Your Hi--” he catches himself just in time-- “Your head. Here, I’ll help you back,” Jongin gestures toward the clinic’s door. 

Kyungsoo’s smile turns coy as he mumbles only loud enough for Jongin to hear, “You want to take me to bed?”

 

 

Jongin’s eyes go wide with shock. Did he really just--

“Head trauma can have odd side effects that come and go. You’ve had some disorientation and fainting after seeming alright, so really you should continue resting.” Yixing offers this advice to Kyungsoo before walking past him to tell Chanyeol, “By the way, I figured you’d want to wash up before dinner, so I filled the tub basin with hot water and epsom salts to ease any muscle soreness.”

 

“I suppose a bath does sound nice about now.” Kyungsoo walks toward the washroom, hands clasped behind his back in regal fashion. He pauses for half a second before speaking over his shoulder to Jongin, “Attend me?”

“Yah!” Chanyeol booms after him, despite the fact Kyungsoo has already disappeared past the rattan curtain of the washroom. “Yixing was talking to us. What the hell do you need a bath for? We’re the ones who just hiked 8km, not you! You just laid around all afternoon, you lazy--”

Jongin glares at Chanyeol and cuts him off with a curt growl. “He’s sick and injured. Cut him some slack. Or do you treat all patients so inhospitably?”

“Injured, my foot. He looked fine a few seconds ago. What’s with this arrogant fool?” Chanyeol turns to complain more quietly to Yixing, whining while the physician pats his back and tells him to let the boy have a soak, helping relieve Yeol of his herbs and market purchases.

Cautiously, Jongin pokes his head inside the washroom and sees Kyungsoo standing facing the tub, with his back towards Jongin and arms held out, waiting for his hanbok to be removed. While it’s encouraging to see him acting as though nothing is wrong, Jongin’s face is red all over at the idea of truly servicing the prince as a full attendant. Not to mention how suspicious this might seem to their hosts.

 

 

 

“You really shouldn’t be so obvious in front of them,” Jongin whispers as he steps closer, wiping his palms on his clothes and preparing his nerves for disrobing the prince. “It’s not safe.”

“Oh?” Kyungsoo asks, surprised. “To me, they seemed to be t--”

“Jongin, could you help wash the rice?” Yixing calls from out in the courtyard. “Where’d he go…”

Frightened at them being caught so obviously as prince and servant, Jongin quickly undoes Kyungsoo’s sangtu, loosing the dark hair to fall around his shoulders. Jongin’s hand starts and stops a few times, hesitating before he pulls the hanbok tie and jumps back as the cloth separates, averting his eyes. “There’s- there’s only the one layer, so please forgive me for leaving you to manage from here.”

Kyungsoo hums and deftly shrugs off the top. Jongin’s eyes unwittingly snag on some superficial red scratches along the prince’s smooth shoulder blades. He frowns, wanting to soothe the injuries and simultaneously ask a thousand questions, but he knows they don’t have time for any of that right now.

“Can we speak later?” he asks, moving toward the door. “Alone?”

 

  


 

There’s a light slosh indicating Kyungsoo has entered the tub. Jongin checks and sees the prince has turned around, arms draped across the top of the small wooden basin, chin perched upon them, just like he had positioned himself the last time Jongin witnessed the crown prince bathing in the palace. It’s strikingly identical, except his eyes. Tonight, Kyungsoo’s eyes are much more… relaxed. Unguarded, though until seeing them shine this brightly, Jongin would never have described them as particularly guarded before.

“Yes, please. Let’s talk privately tonight,” Kyungsoo says with another tender smile that’s so openly fond Jongin can’t believe it’s for him. “Walk me to the watermill after it gets dark.”

 

 

Jongin is on edge throughout dinner, trying to think through a plan. Should they leave under the cover of night? He could ride the two of them on his horse, certainly, but that would require Kyungsoo being able to hold onto him securely from behind, and with the prince having passed out earlier today, he’s not willing to chance having him slip into unconsciousness and fall off, where he could be further injured.

Further affirming it’s too soon for this escape, he feels Kyungsoo sag against him a few times during the meal, head leaning onto Jongin’s broad shoulder. He tries to remain sturdy, scooching closer to support his prince. “Are you feeling okay? Do you need to sleep?” he asks, concerned.

 

 

 

“I’m fine,” Kyungsoo murmurs, but his words are too airy to be convincing.

“So, do you have a place to stay tonight, Jaemin?” Chanyeol asks him between a mouthful of rice.

“Jaemin?” Kyungsoo repeats, picking his head up off of Jongin’s shoulder and looking at him with a furrowed brow.

Jongin sends him a look that begs him to go with the alias and rushes to speak. “I was planning on staying here, if that’s alright with you,” he says to Yixing. In actuality, he’s staying whether the physician gives him permission to or not. He’ll stand watch at the door outside all night if he has to: He’s not leaving his prince’s side.

“Of course. There are two pallets, after all. So long as there isn’t another patient that turns up, you’re welcome to use it.”

“Do you regularly see a lot of people coming through the clinic?” Jongin asks, suddenly wary. It seems like a small operation, but he recalls Baekhyun saying that Yixing was renowned in the area.

“Maybe one or two each day. Why?”

Jongin purses his lips. “Just don’t want to overstay our welcome,” he says nonchalantly.

They eat in comfortable silence, although Kyungsoo pokes at his soup somewhat disdainfully.

“Yah, is my cooking not to your liking? I’ll be happy to let you make breakfast tomorrow, then,” Chanyeol snickers.

“Don’t talk to him like that,” Jongin grits out.

 

 

“There was not enough salt and too little fish,” Kyungsoo critiques not caring that Chanyeol’s face grows irritated. He wipes his mouth daintily and then rises to stand, done with the meal.

Jongin hurries to his feet, standing respectfully as the crown prince goes to leave. But Kyungsoo only takes a few steps before granting him a small smile.

“I’m ready for that walk now,” he says, invitingly.

 

 

Jongin nods, feeling nervous for some reason. He follows behind Kyungsoo as they leave Yixing’s place, out onto the walkway that meanders through the village. They move silently, neither one speaking at first.

“What are you doing?” Kyungsoo asks a few seconds later, stopping and turning around to look at him.

“I’m… walking with you?” Jongin is confused by the question.

Kyungsoo reaches out and grasps Jongin by the hand, tugging him forward. “No, you’re not. You’re walking behind me.”

Out of habit, Jongin was trailing a few steps behind the crown prince in the proper guard position. “O-oh,” he replies, staring down at where Kyungsoo’s hand links with his own.

“Walk  _ with  _ me,” Kyungsoo instructs him with a small smile.

 

 

The feel of Kyungsoo’s soft skin against his own sends a thrill through Jongin, but he tries to ignore it, simply nodding and chastising himself for almost giving away his prince’s status on accident to any curious onlooker. Kyungsoo thumbs gently over the back of his hand before letting go, and they start walking again, now side by side, in perfect step with each other.

The village is gradually settling down for the evening, but they pass by enough houses and noodle shops where people are still awake that they don’t bother to try talking out in the open road.

They reach the watermill, situated on the edge of town, and Jongin opens the door for them to go inside. It’s a quiet, secluded space, where they can finally speak. Only… Jongin’s not sure where to begin. 

“So…” Kyungsoo says with a hesitant smile. He steps slowly toward Jongin, the moonlight shining around him like a halo, making him look more regal than ever despite his plain clothes. “You haven’t greeted me properly yet.”

 

 

Immediately, Jongin drops to his knees, bowing his head respectfully. “Forgive me, Crown Prince.”

“Whoa there, I didn’t mean--” Kyungsoo’s reply dies mid-sentence. “Wait. What did you say?”

 

 

“Forgive me, Crown Prince,” Jongin repeats, head still bowed low, too ashamed to look up at His Highness. Suddenly, he feels a grip on front of his hanbok, pulling him up to stand.

“Why are you calling me that?” Kyungsoo asks, face full of confusion.

“Because you’re the crown prince,” Jongin says plainly, perplexed by this reaction. “Did… did you really lose your memory? But I thought you recognized me.”

“I do!” the prince says emphatically. “You’re Jongin.”

Jongin’s name has never sounded more beautiful to his ears. He nods, encouraged. “That’s right, Your Highness.”

Kyungsoo visibly flinches at the words, letting go of Jongin’s hanbok and taking a step backward. “Don’t call me that,” he says, shaking his head, eyes dropping to the ground. “I don’t… I can't be...” The prince looks overwhelmed, a painful mix of confused and terrified, and Jongin fears he may pass out.

The guard takes a quick step forward, following after Kyungsoo to ensure he’s able to catch him in case he starts to fall. Kyungsoo’s eyes follow the cautious movement of Jongin’s arms extended in a wide circle about him, and he recognizes the protective motion. He stares back up at Jongin, his dark eyes guarded once more with a piercing intensity befitting the Crown Prince.

“What is our relationship?” he demands.

“I’m your Seja-igwisa,” Jongin explains softly, face full of tenderness in hopes to calm the prince down.

“My guard… you’re my guard…” 

Jongin can’t understand why Kyungsoo looks so disappointed about this.

 

He’s worried about sending the prince into shock, but Jongin knows he can’t in good conscience let them leave this place without Kyungsoo hearing the truth. “You went missing several days ago. The palace has proclaimed you dead already and is preparing to install a new crown prince. I-- I need to bring you back.”

Kyungsoo braces himself against a pillar, downcast eyes flitting back and forth taking in the news. “Why?” he suddenly presses, turning back and staring intently at Jongin for answers.

 

 

“Why are they trying to install your brother as crown prin--?”

“No. Why do you need to bring me back?”

It’s a question Jongin is utterly unprepared for. Isn’t the answer self-evident? “I’ve faithfully served the royal family for nearly a decade--”

“But if you’re a loyal servant of the royal family, you should be at the palace, guarding the new crown prince.” Kyungsoo steps closer and looks as though he’s searching Jongin’s soul as he challenges, “Why are you  _ here _ ?”

“I had to find you!” Jongin feels anger bubbling up at questions to his motives.

“On whose orders?”

“No one’s! My own!”

“Why should you care about me if I’m not the crown prince anymore? What should it matter that I’ve been discarded?”

“Because I-- we’re friends!”

“Friends?” Kyungsoo slows his intensive questioning for a moment, softly repeating the word while tilts his head curiously to the side, considering this. “No... no, that still doesn’t seem right. None of this seems...” He turns away from Jongin, fingers pressed to his temple as he furrows his brow in thought.

 

It hurts worse than Jongin could’ve imagined, for Kyungsoo to suspect he’s lying. His desperation reaches a boiling point and he grabs Kyungsoo’s wrist to keep him from walking away, pleading with tears forming in his eyes. “You like walking the gardens at night.” 

Something in Jongin’s voice gets the prince’s attention. He turns back, eyes markedly softer, and doesn’t fight the grip Jongin has on him. So the guard continues.

 

“The summer heat makes you uncomfortable - you prefer the late days of winter and the cherry blossoms that come in early spring. You always leave palace meetings through the side doors rather than the front avoid having to make small talk with officials.” Jongin grows increasing emotional as he forges on to remind Kyungsoo who he is, spilling the details of his prince that are engraved upon his heart. “At night, you’ll burn through an entire candle, reading novels in your chamber until the sun rises, because you find stories are often better than your dreams. You spoil your dog Meokmul because you say men are unloyal beasts and only a dog can be trusted to never betray… But I’m here, Highness!” He pounds his chest. “I won’t let them do this to you, to steal your title and bury you while you live. Please, look at me and remember who you are!”

Kyungsoo stares at him, mouth slightly agape and lower lip quivering with emotion from the onslaught of information. His beautiful doe eyes look glassy in the low light as they search Jongin’s own tear-filled ones. “Your words… feel true.”

“They are, I swear it to you.”

“But there’s still something you’re not telling me,” Kyungsoo insists. “How. How could you know me better than I know myself?”

“Because I love you!”

Jongin’s confession rings through the air before he can stop it. With a gasp, he covers his own mouth, as if he could retroactively prevent the words from having already slipped out. Jongin takes a shaky step backward, afraid everything in his world is about to crumble to pieces.

But he only makes it half a step away before Kyungsoo grasps his wrist, and gently lowers the hand covering Jongin’s mouth.

 

 

His voice is warm as he speaks. “Of all the things you’ve told me, this one is the easiest to believe.” Kyungsoo takes the hand that had covered Jongin’s mouth and places it directly on his own chest. Jongin can feel the rapid heartbeat underneath the prince’s simple clothes, pounding in a steady, galloping rhythm. 

“Because no matter who I am, or who you are, I know that I love you, too.”

And before Jongin can process the full weight of those beautiful words, Kyungsoo pulls him in for a heartfelt kiss.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the lightness at the start of the chapter and the romance at the end. See you next week <3
> 
> As always, I love Kaisoo and nothing ever changes that :) Happy New Year! Talk with me in the comments/kudos are always appreciated :-*
> 
> at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	6. Chapter 6

It’s a dream, feeling those plush lips pressed against his own. The kiss is intense, with Kyungsoo’s mouth firmly and perfectly fit together with his, but it’s chaste. With the prince’s warm palm along the back of his nape, Jongin feels completely anchored in Kyungsoo’s love. The way he lingers on Jongin’s lips for so long seems deliberate, so there can be no mistaking Kyungsoo’s intentions as anything other than romantic.

When he starts to draw back, Jongin can’t help but give chase a little, lips reaching to feel the fullness of the prince’s lower lip just a bit longer. The movement has Kyungsoo gasping lightly and giving in easily, pressing back into their kiss at a slightly different angle and providing new sensations that make Jongin’s toes positively curl.

 

 

Eventually, Kyungsoo relaxes his hold on Jongin, their lips pulling apart slowly, reluctantly. He stays close, mouth still hovering just out of reach of Jongin’s while his large doe eyes rove over Jongin’s face.

“I think… I’m starting to remember,” Kyungsoo says, licking over his lips and leaning back in for another kiss.

Jongin kisses back, more eagerly than before and chancing a light suckle of Kyungsoo’s now wet lips. His hands reach around the prince’s waist, resting gently on the small of Kyungsoo’s back before curling fingers into his hanbok. When they break for air, the prince repeats himself while nuzzling against Jongin’s cheek. 

“Definitely remembering this.” His warm breath feels so amazing on Jongin’s skin, but the guard can no longer hold back his smile.

“Highness, that’s not possible. We’ve… never kissed before.”

Kyungsoo pauses, lips planted mid-kiss on Jongin’s neck. He pulls back to meet his eyes, brow knitted in confusion. He thumbs over Jongin’s kiss-swollen lips, stares at his flushed cheeks. “But, I’ve seen this before. I’m sure of it. It’s clear as day, such a familiar scene I’ve--” His words cut off abruptly as his cheeks grow pink.

 

 

Jongin flushes, too, heart thumping in triple time. It seems the crown prince has spent time fantasizing about this moment as much as he has. The inadvertent confession has him soaring with happiness. He dares to lean forward and plant a gentle kiss on Kyungsoo’s forehead.

“I’ve imagined it, too,” he shares, holding him close and keening from the redness of Kyungsoo’s ears. “For years, Highness.”

Kyungsoo groans. “Never call me that again, Jongin,” he says, kissing him hard to prevent any argument. Each kiss feels more natural than the one before, and it takes a while before Jongin’s able to separate his mouth from Kyungsoo’s, but he’s curious and has to ask.

“But I’ve always called you ‘Highness?’”

“And something tells me that I’ve always hated the reminder that I was ‘higher’ than you and you  _ had _ to humor me and my desire to be close to you.” He pulls his head off of Jongin’s chest to meet his face, the prince’s eyes looking oh so vulnerable. “I’d never want you to feel cornered by my affections.”

Jongin is speechless, amazed by this turn of events. All this time, he’d been so concerned about stepping out of line as the enamored servant, he hadn’t considered how Kyungsoo might feel similarly constrained by his position from expressing his true feelings. “Trust me, that’s… not an issue.”

“You sure?” Kyungsoo smiles coyly and steps closer, body leaning against Jongin to walk them back a few steps. Jongin feels the back of his shins hit a hay bale and it causes him to sit. Kyungsoo looks down at him, waiting, with a slightly arched brow.

Jongin nods, a thrill spreading through his body. “I’m sure,” he murmurs, laying back as Kyungsoo starts leaning down and caging him in between his arms. He’s pinned down not by any physical means, but by the intensity of his prince’s stare. 

  


_ (A/N: fanart credit to @DohLunaris) _

 

The prince’s beautiful face comes closer, closer, but just as Jongin’s eyes flutter shut in anticipation, Kyungsoo stops. “I’ve been this close before, or is that just my imagination?” he asks.

It’s maddening, being so close and knowing they both want it but not having Kyungsoo’s lips on his. “Y-yes, a few times,” he manages to say with a gulp. Jongin’s breath quickens, waiting.

Kyungsoo’s blown pupils flit back and forth between his own as he works on recalling specifics. “In the pond? You rescued me?”

“That’s right,” he affirms, trying to recall if Kyungsoo looked this  _ hungry _ at that time and he just missed it. But Jongin can’t conjure up the memory properly, his mind too fixated on the feeling that if Kyungsoo doesn’t kiss him in the next two seconds, he’s going to go insane.

Luckily, Kyungsoo closes the distance between them and kisses him soundly, pulling a satisfied moan from Jongin’s lips. “Kissing you really does bring back my memories,” he mumbles, breath hot against Jongin’s mouth. Kyungsoo’s eyes sparkle mischievously. “Kiss me more.”

Jongin is all too happy to oblige, cradling the prince’s face in his hands and angling him to slot their open mouths together for a passionate liplock.

_ (A/N: Smut joke, but j/k) _

 

After a few minutes of indulgent kisses, they separate to catch their breath. Jongin revels in how love drunk Kyungsoo looks, eyes soft and staring right back into his. “I should  take you back.”

“Not yet, I don’t have all my memories back,” Kyungsoo says, stealing another peck from his lips.

“Not back to the palace, I mean back to the clinic,” Jongin explains, starting to sit up, but he finds himself being pulled back down into the bed of hay beside Kyungsoo.

 

 

“You know… if kissing helps me remember, maybe something else would help me recover even faster…”

Jongin chuckles at his boldness, kissing Kyungsoo’s temple. “You need to  _ rest  _ and take your medicine to recover faster.”

“But you’re the best medicine. I haven’t felt this good in years,” he says with a placid smile.

Jongin blushes and relents, giving his prince one more long, deep kiss and relishing the playful drag of his tongue against Kyungsoo’s. The prince’s eyes are still closed when it ends, and he whispers to Jongin, “Lay here with me. Just a moment longer.” 

 

 

 

Kyungsoo winds an arm around Jongin’s middle, and they hold each other in the quiet. Jongin’s heart yearns to stay the whole night like this, but the straw can’t be comfortable for his prince, and it’s best for them to be at the clinic when Yixing wakes.

Jongin thumbs over his soft cheek, coaxing Kyungsoo’s eyes to flutter back open, before standing up and helping the prince to his feet as well. “Let’s walk back.”

Kyungsoo squeezes his hand and agrees. A few wobbly steps forward, however, and Jongin stops him right away.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I think… I might have gotten up too fast. Head rush,” Kyungsoo explains, hand pressed near his head wound.

Immediately, Jongin drops to his knee. “I’ll carry you. Climb on,” he gestures, requesting to piggyback him.

Kyungsoo willingly drapes himself over Jongin’s back, hooking his chin over Jongin’s shoulder, and they set off down the moonlit path.

 

“Tell me, are you doing this as my Seja-igwisa, or as my beloved?”

Jongin smiles at the question. “Does it matter?”

“Yes.” The warm breath on Jongin’s neck is distracting, as is the face now nuzzling into the crook of his neck. “If you’re only being a dutiful guard, I probably shouldn’t do this, for example.”

Jongin focuses on staying steady on his feet while Kyungsoo traces the outer shell of his ear with his nose. “What if it’s both?” he asks breathily.

The prince hums thoughtfully. “Then maybe I should keep my ‘thank you’ tasteful.” He presses a light kiss to the sensitive skin just behind Jongin’s ear, and then draws away.

Jongin’s gait has slowed dramatically, prolonging the walk. He’s always enjoyed evening strolls with His Highness, but tonight obviously takes first place. “...and what if my position was the furthest thing from my mind when I knelt down, and the offer to carry you was natural, simply because I love you?”

“Then my appreciation would be more appropriately expressed by something like…” Kyungsoo lets his fingers stroke down the side of Jongin’s face and goes to nuzzle the inner whirl of his ear, surprising Jongin when he lets the inside of his bottom lip drag across it in an intimate kiss.

 

 

 

“Hig- Wangseja!” Jongin yelps, correcting himself but still unsure what to call him. The title doesn’t seem bother Kyungsoo, who simply chuckles at his reaction.

“What? Your hands are on my ass, how am I supposed to behave?” he teases, although he settles in demurely with his cheek resting tenderly on Jongin’s shoulder.

Jongin had been trying his best to  _ not _ think about the two, full asscheeks currently in his hands, but with attention now drawn to the situation, he hikes Kyungsoo further up his back and slides his hands further out to cradle his thighs instead.

“Ah, I see. My loyal guard, so good to me,” Kyungsoo praises in his more formal, princely voice.

Jongin keens from the affection, unable to keep the broad smile off his face, but satisfied that Kyungsoo can’t see it. He ambles them down the village path with a full heart. Navigating these uncharted waters will be difficult, to say the least, but Jongin puts off worrying about it for another day.

Tonight, everything is perfect.

 

Jongin wakes in the morning to sounds of bottles clinking around in the front room of the clinic. He sits up and notices the sun is already fully risen. And there’s no slumbering Kyungsoo on the pallet next to him.

He bolts to his feet and out to the front room.

“Well good morning! You were tired. Slept right through breakfast,” Yixing says cheerily.

“Where is he?” Jongin scans the room and sees no traces of Kyungsoo. He knew it was all too good to be true last night. Did he hallucinate the entire exchange yesterday? Did Yixing’s herbal concoction knock him out for the past 18 odd hours and give him the best lucid dream with all his heart’s desires?

“Relax, Jaemin. He’s out front. He didn’t want to you to be disturbed this morning, and we all agreed you seemed to need the rest.”

“ _ He’s _ the one who needs rest. His head was bothering him again last night,” Jongin counters.

“Oh? He didn’t mention that to me. Don’t worry, I served him his heart medicine this morning and told him to take it easy,” Yixing gestures outside.

Jongin hurries out and breathes a sigh of relief upon seeing his prince calmly sunbathing in the yard.

 

 

He approaches Kyungsoo cautiously, not sure if he’s fallen asleep in the warmth of the sun. He’s also slow in his steps because he’s uncertain… How formally should he interact with the prince now? Last night, walls came down, but in the blinding light of day, how many should be rebuilt?

There’s also the issue of Kyungsoo’s broken memories. What if he’s forgotten the confessions they shared last night? Can Jongin really pretend that he’s forgotten, too, if necessary? Can a heart step backwards into hiding after it’s been laid bare before the one who holds it? 

Having reached the prince and not seeing him stir at all, Jongin scans his peaceful face and leans down to check his breathing.

“If you come any closer, I  _ will _ kiss you,” Kyungsoo mumbles, smile upon his lips before his eyelashes flutter open.

Jongin startles back, blushing. Well, that response wipes away several worries at once. “How are you feeling? I wasn’t sure if you were asleep.”

“I was.”

“Then, my apologies for disturbing you.” He starts to retreat but Kyungsoo reaches out and snags his hand.

“Don’t do that. You’re never disturbing me.” He sits up and tugs Jongin to join him. “Plus, no one here knows who I am, right? Speak comfortably.”

“You should keep resting if you’re tired, though,” Jongin protests.

“This is true,” Kyungsoo agrees easily. He promptly shifts to lay back down, settling his head on Jongin’s lap with a satisfied smile and shutting his eyes again. “Here, I’ll rest like a good little prince. Happy?”

 

Jongin smiles, endeared, and also encouraged by the familiarity of his words. “You’ve used that phrase before with me, to tell me now to worry.”

“Oh? What were you worried about?”

Jongin frowns. “Something bad happening to you when I wouldn’t be around to stop it.”

Kyungsoo opens his eyes back up, considering this and seeming to understand the connection to his current predicament. He looks like he’s trying to remember something, so Jongin sits quietly and lets him think.

“I thought more memories might return overnight, but they haven’t,” Kyungsoo admits.

So it’s not an issue of sleeping. Jongin ventures a few questions, curious about the boundaries of Kyungsoo’s memory loss. “Did you remember me right away, when you first saw me here, after working the mountain with Chanyeol?”

“My heart did. I felt a pull of safety, but not any real details yet. When I woke up after fainting, though, your name was the first thing on my mind.”

“My name? But what about yours? Your title? Your history?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head no. 

“That doesn’t make much sense.”

Kyungsoo gazes at him fondly. “Perhaps the fact that I love you is the most important part of who I am.”

 

Jongin can’t hear anything over the loudness of his own heart racing in his chest. “You’re the first-born son of the king and heir to all of Joseon. I could never be more important than that.”

“What if you already are? To me, anyway.”

Jongin can’t handle the penetrating stare that Kyungsoo’s giving him. It makes him feel almost dizzy with disbelief, so he covers the prince’s eyes with his hand, joking, “Okay, we really do need to get your head examined. I’m gonna call Yixing over.”

  


 

Kyungsoo chuckles but persists. “I’m serious, Jongin. What if we just… don’t go back?” 

Jongin shakes his head. It doesn’t feel right. “You’ve lived your whole life in the palace. With time, you’ll likely remember it, and miss it.”

“But no one there seems to miss me,” he counters. “Why are they installing my brother as the new crown prince when they haven’t even found my body?”

Jongin’s face falls. “I don’t know. I had been hoping you’d be able to explain it. You’ve never been particularly close with your father or the rest of your family, but did something happen to spark this chain of events?”

Kyungsoo’s brow furrows in concentration. “I… I don’t know.”

The urge to soothe the wrinkles in his brow gets to be too much, and Jongin cautiously strokes over the prince’s thick eyebrows. Kyungsoo’s face relaxes almost immediately at his touch. “Don’t strain yourself,” Jongin murmurs. “You’re supposed to be resting. We can talk more about it later.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this flirty, cute Kaisoo chapter. They deserved it.
> 
> I'll update again in just a few days bc it's gonna be KYUNGSOO'S BIRTHDAY and KAISOO DAY and then JONGIN'S BIRTHDAY! \o/ Excited to celebrate our amazing boys <3
> 
> Talk to me in the comments :-*
> 
> At1stsight/at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com/) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	7. Chapter 7

They lapse into comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other’s presence and the peaceful morning. It’s incredible how much physical comfort Jongin derives from having the prince on his lap like this.

“I remember the pavillion,” Kyungsoo says dreamily.

“Oh?”

The prince opens his eyes and smiles shyly at him. “I remember being there with you.”

Jongin nods. “You like to study there, especially in the late morning. I’m normally just keeping watch to the side, though.”

“Not this time,” Kyungsoo explains. “We were talking, just us, and I made you laugh. I wanted so badly to caress your cheek but couldn’t. I used my calligraphy brush to touch your lips, wishing all the while it could’ve been my fingers to feel…” Kyungsoo trails off as he slowly reaches up toward him before drawing back.

Jongin gently grasps his hand and brings it closer, letting the prince’s fingers brush against his lips.

 

 

He watches Kyungsoo lose his breath from the touch, and gives the fingertips a few tender kisses. “You can’t keep confessing all these desires to me, Wangseja.”

Kyungsoo’s hand wanders over to his cheek, thumb coming back to graze over Jongin’s full lower lip again. “Why not?”

“Because it will make me want to rewind time too much and do so many things differently.” Jongin can barely keep his own breathing calm with how intimately Kyungsoo is running his fingers down his jaw now.

With a sparkle in his eye, Kyungsoo mumbles, “I should tell you about the memories I thought I recovered when I was bathing in the tub last night.”

They’re interrupted by an old woman entering the courtyard to get some help for her aching knees. Yixing greets her and assesses the progression of her arthritis before settling on the remedy he wants to brew her.

“Jaemin, could you help me? Chanyeol’s in the fields this morning.”

Jongin agrees readily. It’s the least he can do in exchange for Yixing keeping them as guest and patient.

Kyungsoo reluctantly sits up, looking pouty over losing Jongin’s lap as his pillow. He follows them inside and sits on the luxe pallet, looking regal as ever at the head of the room just as he would preside in the palace.

The subtle, princely mannerisms make the corners of Jongin’s mouth tick upward. He does so adore Kyungsoo’s powerful aura, after all.

 

 

The afternoon passes quietly, with another two villagers stopping in to restock on medicines from Yixing and consult with him on health concerns. Kyungsoo seems content to quietly watch Jongin assist the doctor. He leafs through Yixing’s medical books at the same time, casually reading through one before returning it to the bookshelf and searching more intently for a specific volume.

When the clinic is empty once more, they head outside to get some fresh air, and Jongin offers to split firewood needed for this evening’s cooking.

 

 

“Any new revelations?” he asks the prince between swings of his axe.

“I was reading about how amnesia usually resolves. There are several stories of it coming back gradually when assisted by immersion with familiar people or activities. I think that’s true for me, too,” he says with a thoughtful look. “When I’m with you, it feels like I’m rediscovering myself.”

 

 

Jongin smiles to himself, always grateful he can be of any service to his prince. “So do you remember why you left the palace a few days ago?”

“Maybe I ran away.” Kyungsoo suggests this while staring up at the blue sky. “Definitely wouldn’t have been the first time I’d dreamed of it.”

“Possible, but unlikely given your injuries? And why would you want to run away?”

Kyungsoo just stares at Jongin and doesn’t say anything for a solid minute, causing Jongin to blush and double down on his attention to chopping wood. “My hometown is in the opposite direction,” he mumbles out. “And you knew that.”

“Ah, well there goes that theory,” the prince says with a shrug, laying back down.

“They said you went pheasant hunting.”

“Hunting? That… doesn’t feel right.”

“It didn’t seem like it to me either. You’d promised me that you wouldn’t leave the palace walls.”

“Then I wouldn’t have,” Kyungsoo immediately confirms, confident. “Not voluntarily.”

They continue chatting through the chores and dine comfortably with Yixing and Chanyeol afterward. After clean-up is over, Yixing suggests they change Kyungsoo’s bandages for his head wound.

The prince winces as Yixing gently presses around the knot. “The swelling has gone down since yesterday, but coupling this with your chronic heart arrhythmia and the memory loss, I’d recommend you stay on strict rest for at least another several days.”

“So no traveling before then?” Jongin surmises, chewing on the corner of his lip.

“I have to strongly advise against that to avoid aggravating the symptoms or, heaven forbid, making the memory loss permanent.”

Jongin nods and tries to give an encouraging smile to Kyungsoo despite the dread he’s feeling inside. They will be cutting it extremely close to wait that long to return, assuming Junmyeon has been able to delay the installment ceremony thus far.

Kyungsoo readies himself for bed while they prepare the herbal remedy for his heart, and once he’s settled on his pallet, Jongin brings it in for him, bidding Yixing goodnight.

In the privacy of their small room, Kyungsoo reaches out and takes Jongin’s hand in his. “You’re worried.”

Jongin puts on a brave face. “I’ll figure something out, if necessary. And we still have time.” It’s a white lie that the astute prince sees right through.

“It’ll be okay. As long as I have you.” Kyungsoo downs his medicine and tugs Jongin over onto his pallet to lay beside him.

 

 

The smile on Kyungsoo’s face and warm arm wrapped around his middle are enough for Jongin to temporarily ignore the bleakness of the crown prince’s prospects and his own troubled heart. He moves forward and steals a soft kiss from Kyungsoo’s willing lips. “Sleep,” he softly requests. Kyungsoo hums and closes his eyes.

In the dark room, Jongin’s mind goes over all the possible outcomes, and the guilt weighs on him. For not being there on the critical day the prince was forced outside his home. For being a potential excuse for Kyungsoo to not return to his rightful place. For not seeing warning signs within the palace that this storm was headed for his beloved prince. He’s so unworthy to be here in his arms right now, benefitting from this turn of events. Silent tears fall, hidden in the darkness.

He stays in Kyungsoo’s embrace until he’s certain the prince is in a deep slumber, and then slides over to his own pallet to avoid any signs of impropriety should Yixing be the first to wake in the morning. But in a moment of weakness, he keeps their hands linked between them, on the floor bridging the distance between the prince’s silk mat and his straw one.

\--

The next morning starts uneventfully. Jongin agrees to go with Chanyeol to forage for more herbs but not before seeing his mare at the stables in town and fetching the calligraphy supplies from his satchel. He brings these to Kyungsoo with a smile.

“Here, in case you feel like writing. You always did like journaling.”

“Thanks, I was a little worried about going stir crazy from all this required rest, particularly if you’re not here,” he says with a wry smile. “Maybe it’ll help jog some memories, too.”

 

 

Jongin and Chanyeol have a successful trip, working continuously through lunch and returning with heavy loads. Yixing and Kyungsoo are there to greet them as they unpack their finds and sort them.

“Hey, you,” the prince says with a sweet smile for Jongin that makes him feel like more precious than gold.

Suddenly, a familiar face comes barreling through the house gate, manggeon askew and panting.

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol greets warmly. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

 

 

 

Jongin’s stomach drops as Baekhyun looks over at him and Kyungsoo.

“So, you know how you paid me to keep quiet about him?”

“Oh that was a waste of money,” Chanyeol jokes, not catching onto the seriousness of the atmosphere. “Baek’s got the biggest mouth.”

“Yah! I kept my end of the deal,” Baekhyun protests. “Given how eager you were to buy my silence, I figured there might be a loan shark out for him or something. I was prepared for… suspicious men. I was _not_ prepared for several high-class assassins to come prowling through the marketplace in search of an injured stranger.” He arches an eyebrow. “Nor did I expect when eavesdropping on them to hear them whispering about the missing crown prince.”

Jongin sucks in a deep breath, instinctively hiding Kyungsoo behind him.

“Exactly _who_ is your friend there, Jaemin?” Baekhyun asks with concern.

Chanyeol’s eyes are wide with incredulity. “Oh my god, is he really…”

Jongin cuts straight to the chase. “Do they know you brought him here?” he demands.

“No,” Baekhyun shakes his head. “But I heard them discuss coming this way north after a thorough search of my town today. Given their weaponry and lack of official palace clothing, I… doubt their intentions are noble. I came as fast as I could to warn you. They’ll probably be here tomorrow morning.”

Jongin spins around, stress evident on his face as he and Kyungsoo search each other’s eyes, communicating wordlessly. They need to leave. But Kyungsoo can’t race away by horseback, even if Jongin could borrow a second horse. His health is still too precarious.

“We can hide,” Kyungsoo speaks authoritatively, trying to take control of the situation. “I’m only a threat until my brother is formally installed as the crown prince. They won’t bother looking for me anymore after that. We just have to keep out of sight for a few days.”

“Oh my god, he really _is_ \--”

“No, they can’t depose you! There’s got to be--” An image from this morning flashes through Jongin’s mind. The crown prince’s royal hunting garb: It’s still in his satchel. “I’ll be right back,” he promises, squeezing Kyungsoo’s hands. “Wait here.”

He fetches his horse from the stable and rides back to Yixing’s place, pulling his mare up by the gates. Kyungsoo stands up, prepared to join him and go, but Yixing protests, “I really can’t advise that he ride--”

“He won’t,” Jongin affirms, confusing the prince. “Just me. I’ll head south and lead the assassins the wrong direction. All we need is for them to hear that the crown prince has been sighted to the south, and they’ll follow the news. Plus, the palace will hear of it and _have_ to postpone the ceremony.”

Baekhyun makes a face. “That’s all well and good, but they probably won’t believe baseless rumors.”

“No, but they’ll believe this.” He flips open his satchel and flashes the sleeve of Kyungsoo’s hunting robe, adorned with the unmistakable royal emblem.

 

 

“Loan me a gat,” he asks Chanyeol, who nods and rushes inside the clinic to fetch one. “I’ll wear this, and as far as they’ll know, it _is_ the crown prince riding through towns to the south. I’ll make a commotion at the edge of Baekhyun’s village and be sure plenty of people see the Crown Prince race away southward.”

“Jongin, no!” Kyungsoo objects. “It’s too dangerous. What if they catch you?”

“My horse is better rested than theirs, and I can outride virtually anyone in Joseon,” he says calmly. “I shouldn’t even have to fight them, only draw them away by popping up in two or three consecutive southern towns. Stay, write, rest. Try to regain your memories and your strength. I’ll return in a few days.”

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “Listen to me, I don’t care about the throne. We can find somewhere else to settle, somewhere quiet--”

“I won’t let you give up your kingdom for me!” Jongin argues back, voice cracking with emotion. “I couldn’t bear it, don’t ask me to!”

“Then let me be the one to ride!” Kyungsoo raises his voice. “It’s my life they’re after, not yours, and I won’t have you dying in my place!”

“You forget that is _precisely_ my job.”

Their stand-off is intense, both men looking positively wrecked but determined as the three onlookers watch silently unsure what to do.

Kyungsoo’s eyes are rimmed red with tears, but he steels himself, lips pressed in a thin line as he advances closer to Jongin on his horse. He stops less than an arm’s length away, looking formidable and unmistakably royal as he booms, “I forbid you, Seja-igwisa!”

Jongin bows his head deferentially, momentarily cowed by the decree and the blatant use of power. With a heaving chest, he slowly lifts his face, tears in his eyes, and replies. “I’m sorry. But not even an order from the Crown Prince can keep me from doing what I need to protect the man I love.”

And before another word can be spoken, Jongin spurs his horse, and gallops out of the village.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Kaisoo Day! I love Jongin's devotion to Kyungsoo, both irl as the number one supportive Dandanie and in this story as his sincere personal guard who only wants what's best for his prince TT_TT
> 
> Talk to me in the comments <3
> 
> at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com/) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	8. Chapter 8

Jongin rides hard, letting the wind sting his eyes and blow away the tears tracking down his cheeks. He makes great time, getting to Baekhyun’s village in under two hours. Which is perfect, because the sun is still up. He needs the light to be seen and an audience for this plan to work.

Jongin takes care to ride around the town rather than enter it’s northern gate. Finding a small copse of trees that provides adequate coverage, he changes into the royal hunting hanbok. He shakes out his long, dark hair, finger combing it as best he can, and assembles it as smoothly as he can up into a sangtu. Hair prepared, he affixes the borrowed gat and takes care tying the black ribbon neatly underneath his chin. Maybe it’s a trivial consideration in the grand scheme of things, but Jongin finds himself caring deeply about presenting as polished an appearance as he can since he is representing the Crown Prince and wouldn’t want any shame brought to his name.

The sun begins its slow descent toward the horizon, signaling the farmers to stop working in the fields and return home. In anticipation of their arrival, Jongin mounts his horse and heads into the village. His heart hammers in his chest, adrenaline coursing through him as he realizes there is no turning back now. This plan has to work. He has to draw enough attention to ensure the assassins will catch wind of it, but risks presenting himself right before them and losing any head start to the next village if he travels too deep into town.

He passes a few peasant homes that appear empty, walking his horse for the time being, not wanting to waste her energy until it’s truly needed. He can make out the far end of the marketplace up ahead, about a hundred meters away. Across from the last stall, he notices a tavern with one table occupied with clientele, homely villagers enjoy a bottle of makgeolli. Perfect.

Jongin canters his horse alongside the tavern, spots the owner, and requests in a fake parched voice, “Water, please.”

The owner acknowledges the request and fills a glass without even glancing Jongin’s way. When he extends the full cup, however, he notices the royal embroidery on his robe and nearly drops the cup in surprise.

“Your Highness!” he exclaims, bowing low. Jongin catches the cup and downs it rapidly, extending it again in a silent request for more.

“Highness?” mutters one of the tipsy patrons. “Yah, why would anyone from the royal family be--” he gasps as his friend drops his bowl of makgeolli with a clatter onto the table, splattering the alcohol onto the two of them.

“Can I get you anything else, anything at all?” the tavern owner asks, keeping his eyes down low out of respect.

“No, thank you. I promise in a few days, you’ll receive a more formal thank you for serving the Crown Prince in his time of need,” he says, imitating Kyungsoo’s voice as best he can and hoping this will do. “For now, I must go.”

“I thought the news bulletin said the Crown Prince died in a hunting accident??” the customer yell-whispers to his friend with a hiccup.

When Jongin turns his horse about to head for the south gate, he is satisfied to see the owner’s exclamation and drunkards’ talk has attracted the attention of nearby market stall owners and their customers, half of whom are now chattering animatedly in whispers and gesturing toward Jongin with shock evident on their faces. He spurs his horse and rides hard along the path closest to the onlookers, his mare kicking up dust as they fly back toward the gate with shouts of “ _Wangseja, he lives!”_ behind him.

He dart past a different rows of homes, some now showing signs of life, with inhabitants poking their heads out to see what the marketplace commotion is all about. He keeps his head low, smirking as he reaches the south gate. His timing was impeccable - a dozen farmers just now reaching the village with their heavy A-frames on their backs jolt out of the way as he barrels past.

The news will surely spread like wildfire in this small town. The assassins should hear of it within the hour. The chase... is on.

Jongin races as fast as he can through the open countryside. He glances behind him every so often, and in the clear straight-aways can see a small clump of riders, maybe twenty minutes back, stark against the sky melting blood orange with the sunset. “Go, girl, go,” he shouts encouragingly to his horse as she makes him proud, dashing down the road with blazing speed.

He gallops into the next town a few hours later, and repeats the stunt he pulled at the previous one, getting water for his mare this time and leaving gasping villagers in the town tavern. As he sprints away, they’re abuzz with questions and declarations to summon the magistrate to send word to the palace immediately. The swell of the commoners’ support warms Jongin’s heart: Kyungsoo does have the people’s loyalty, more vocally in the countryside than inside the palace walls, perhaps, but the citizens of Joseon count for something, and government officials aren’t ignorant of this. It just got a lot more difficult to install a new heir.

A few hours further down the road, Jongin reaches Chungju, a proper city with guards stationed at the gates who would surely have questions for a rider dressed as the Crown Prince. He decides it’s best to circumvent the city and go on to another smaller settlement to steal some rest. Plus, the assassins will likely waste a full day looking for him in Chungju, only to find out he’s been spotted even further south.

(A/N: [Mood music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS5GfL9F7L4) for this next section if you want it)

The next village can be his last before he turns back, to go return to his prince’s side. Jongin repeats this thought over and over, trying to stay awake and upright on his horse as they veer off the path and into the hilly, forested area east of the city walls. He’s ridden hard, and given the forest cover, he should probably take a light breather. He eventually dismounts and walks alongside his mare, in hopes to keep himself alert as well as give her a break.

About 15 minutes later, they reach a fairly high elevation, overlooking the sleeping city to the right. There are torches and lanterns lit throughout the streets inside and along the north, west, and south gates. The flickering lights almost look like candles, waiting for wishes to be made on them and then blown out. With a small smile, Jongin pauses his steps. He closes his eyes and makes a silent wish, blowing out a long, slow sigh that he knows can’t reach a latern directly, but perhaps the wind will carry it anyway, and grant his heart’s sincerest request. _Let him one day be king, the greatest one Joseon has ever seen._

His horse whinnies, tugging him along as though in a hurry again. Jongin looks back, and can’t be sure if he’s hallucinating it, but he thinks he can make out several riders approaching the northern gate that he avoided. It must be 1am or later now, leaving little doubt as to who might be travelling their same route at this hour. With renewed determination, they hurry on, back down the other side of the hill to rejoin the road coming out the southern end of Chungju, and exhaustedly trot onward to one more village.

The sun is just beginning to peek up over the eastern horizon when Jongin finally comes across the end point of his journey. A tiny, unassuming village, a perfect hideout. He drags himself into town, looking for the first person awake. It’s an older ahjussi, awake and sweeping off the humble porch of his house.

Dead tired, Jongin approaches him with caution, easily catching his attention without even trying since he is the only other soul up at this hour.

“H-highness,” the man stutters out, bowing deeply and speaking with reverent amazement. “To what does our humble town owe this great honor?”

“Can I bother you for a place to rest?” he asks quietly. “Just for a few hours?” Jongin would love to turn around and head straight back to Kyungsoo immediately after the village is awake and he can make his presence known, but his body protests, having endured too much stress in the past several days.

“Yes, highness, yes of course,” the old man gestures to his home, open the door widely. “I’m afraid my home is not very accommodating, though. Perhaps I should walk you to the noble master’s home further down the path?”

“No, this will do fine. I only need a few hours before I must be going. Could you wake me if any strangers come to town looking for me? I… don’t particularly want to be found right now.”

The look in the old man’s eyes make it clear that he, too, has heard the news the Crown Prince has supposedly died. “I swear to keep your presence here unknown to even my own daughter.”

With a grateful nod, Jongin steps inside, lays down on the thin straw mat, and passes out immediately.

He has a dreamless sleep, awaking what feels like only moments later to the whispered shout of “Wangseja! Highness, wake up, please!”

“What’s happened? How long have I been asleep?” Jongin asks groggily, trying to clear his eyes.

“It’s been roughly two hours. There’s a stranger that’s come to town and… we don’t get many of those. I didn’t like the look in his eye when he walked past, asking a neighbor for the town healer.”

Jongin takes a deep breath and rolls out his neck. “I should go.”

“There’s more.”

Jongin looks at the old man with a confused expression.

“Just now, before I came in to wake you, I saw a palace guard enter the village, too. Perhaps he could help--”

The moment the words are out of the old man’s mouth, Jongin is springing into action. Depending on who the palace guard is, whether someone in Kyungsoo’s camp or ignorantly loyal to the current climate of the palace that is satisfied with his disappearance, this person could be even more dangerous to Jongin’s cause than the assassin. Being caught by a palace guard could mean certain death for high treason of impersonating the prince, but more importantly, it would convince everyone that Kyungsoo is truly dead, with all Jongin’s work over the past day being for naught to delay the installment of a new crown prince.

“Don’t trust the guard,” he commands shortly.

“Yes, Highness,” the man bows his head, looking genuinely distressed for Jongin and wringing his hands nervously.

“I fed and watered your horse. She’s out back.”

“Would it be possible for you to gather a few friends or neighbors, people who could bear witness to seeing the Crown Prince alive but be willing to not expose that you housed me?” Jongin wouldn’t want any trouble to come to his host, but he needs to keep up the ruse that the prince has continued a trek south to keep them away from Kyungsoo’s hideout in the north.

“Yes? I could call a few over. Some haven’t left to forage yet.”

“Good, summon who you can in the next two minutes. Have my horse waiting, and I’ll ride out from here at that time. Ask them to wait an hour, and then tell everyone, including the stranger and the guard, that you saw me ride by heading _further south._ Can you do that?”

“Yes, Highness. I understand!” He bows and hurries out. A few tense minutes later, a handful of different voices can be heard out in the courtyard.

Jongin emerges from the house and quickly climbs into the saddle of his horse. “The prince thanks you for your help,” he says to the gathered friends, all fully shocked at his appearance. With an acknowledging nod to his host, the only person still brave enough to look at his face now, he rides quietly out of the village.

He needs to change out of the regal hunting robes now, but there are no good places to stop along his route until he closes in toward Chungju and the forest that abuts the city. Retracing his steps, he heads up into the hills and the safety of the trees to swap into his normal clothes.

But as soon as he dismounts, an arrow whizzes by his ear.

Jongin quickly ducks behind a tree as he hears another arrow fly through the air. It lands with a thunk into the tree’s trunk, followed by another in quick succession. Quick, but not so fast as to suggest there are multiple archers. He feints, leaning out enough to draw attention but rapidly pulling back to use the tree for protection and waits for the arrow to whiz by before darting over to the cover of a different tree.

 _Thunk_. Another arrow misses its mark and lands in a nearby tree. Definitely only one archer. The assassin group must have split up with some remaining in Chungju and others taking all reasonable routes around it in hopes of finding the prince before he slipped away. Steadily, Jongin moves from tree to tree between the archer’s arrow attacks, drawing closer to the assassin each time and hoping he’ll run out of arrows soon enough.

When he’s close enough to hear the bow twang, Jongin waits for one more shot to fly past him, and then charges out with his sword drawn, running full tilt in the direction of the attacker. The man looses one more arrow at almost point blank range, which Jongin deflects with his sword, but before he can turn the blade back toward the assassin, Jongin gets a hefty punch straight to the ribs, sending him sideways as the man deftly leaps back out of range.

They stare each other down, and Jongin figures it can’t hurt to try ‘diplomacy’ before dispatching of this vile man. With eyes narrowed, he attempts to summon some of Kyungsoo’s steely demeanor that he’s always admired. “In the name of the prince of Joseon, I order you to stand down.”

“You’re not the Crown Prince,” the man scoffs with an amused huff. “The others might’ve been fooled and thought we were chasing down the real deal, but I wasn’t. He’s dead for sure, or he would’ve appeared much sooner than now. How’d you get his robes, though? Did _you_ perhaps off him?”

Jongin can’t restrain the snarl that finds its way up his throat at this suggestion. “If you’re so confident he’s passed on, why are you and your friends so busy looking for him?” he challenges.

“Because ultimately, _some_ by-the-book officials in the palace are kicking up a fuss about needing to bury him before installing a new heir. And we’re being paid handsomely to retrieve the dear, dead prince,” the assassin says mockingly, slowly drawing his sword from his sheath, admiring the blade and then turning his dark eyes on Jongin.

While he’s anxious to send this guy straight to the depths of hell where he belongs, the assassin’s still talking and there’s information to be gained, so Jongin tamps down the urge to stab. “Paid by whom?”

“See, if you were _actually_ the prince, you’d already know. But no matter: all we really need is a body, and yours, dressed in these robes, will do just fine. I’ll just mark up your pretty face so it looks like a wild animal got to you here in the woods. Tsk tsk, what a shame,” he says with an evil grin before lunging at Jongin.

The idea of dying doesn’t bother Jongin much. It can’t, for anyone willing to serve as a guard. Knowing his death here would virtually secure Kyungsoo’s dethroning, however, makes the prospect utterly intolerable. Jongin fights with unmatched passion, parrying the assassins forward stab with such a forceful counter that the man almost loses his grip on his sword. The clash of metal on metal reverberates through the forest as they battle back and forth.

The assassin swings hard at Jongin’s shoulder, but he easily dodges it with a step to the side. Swift on his feet, moving fluidly through the leaf-littered ground, Jongin continues to skillfully dodge the attacks that become wilder and wilder, letting the assassin tire himself out, until he puts all his remaining effort into a vicious hack towards Jongin’s neck.

Seeing his opening as the man misses and is momentarily off-balance, Jongin thrusts his sword straight into his chest. The assassin flails back one last time, the edge of his sword glancing just barely off of Jongin’s cheek as he blocks the man’s wrist to prevent the blow from finishing its path, unable to properly dodge it while still keeping his own sword embedded deeply in the attacker’s chest. Jongin holds firm, glaring into the man’s angry eyes, until the life drains out of them and he finally falls to the ground, and moves no more.

The fight concluded, Jongin removes his blade, wiping it clean on a grassy patch before sheathing it again. He feels at the sting on his face and grimaces at the drops of blood on his fingers. He needs to get out of the prince’s robes and make sure he doesn’t further stain them. Quickly, he changes into his own clothes from his satchel and stows the royal hunting hanbok. As he’s about to mount his horse and leave, he decides to search the dead body for any clues as to who sent him.

In his left pocket, Jongin finds a small lump of gold approximately the size of his fingernail. Payment in pure gold? Only a few people in the palace would have access to such precious minerals, and given the assassin’s suggestion that the Crown Prince would know who was after him, maybe this nugget will help job Kyungsoo’s memory. He pockets the gold and charges off, back to the north. Back to his prince.

The adrenaline of the fight wears off as he rides, and the toil of the past twenty four hours starts taking its toll. He and his mare retrace their steps back, managing to keep a light trot most of the way to the next village, but the sun has already set by the time his horse is limping onto Baekhyun’s hometown at a sluggish walk. The right side of Jongin’s ribcage has persistent dull pain from where the assassin landed his punch, and it gets more and more difficult for him to keep himself stabilized on his horse. He doesn’t want to stop, but he’s not confident both he and his horse can make it all the way back to Yixing’s without collapsing. Reluctantly, he asks a wandering townsperson where Baekhyun’s house is, and plods his way over, not sure if he’ll find the owner there or not.

A cautious browse around the premises turns up no sign of occupancy, so Jongin ties up his horse near a rain barrel, takes one long drink from it, and goes inside to collapse on the cotton mattress he finds.

\---

His dreams are filled with flashes of combat. The first sequence replays snippets of the day’s fight in the woods, the zing of the arrows through the trees, the sneer on the assassin’s face as he mocks the rightful crown prince. Jongin battles him with his blade, parrying and countering… and then the scene suddenly transforms. He’s no longer in the woods, but back in the palace, fighting not black-clothed assassins, but his own palace guards. He’s not alone. He sees Junmeyon and Sehun and a few others, keeping a tight circle as they fight off faceless igwisa. As he slashes his blade through one after another, he hears an angry roar and spins to see Kyungsoo, engaged in combat to his left with a man in noble dress.

Jongin is desperate to intervene, to defend his prince, but the honor of the fight demands he do nothing but watch. With his heart in his throat, he witnesses Kyungsoo and the faceless noble battle back and forth, until a ferocious crash of their swords sends the crown prince staggering backward.

“No!” Jongin yells, leaping in between the two men, eyes locked with Kyungsoo’s panic-stricken ones as he shields his prince from the incoming blow headed straight for him.

He feels a strike on his back, but it’s dull rather than piercing as a slice from steel should feel. The scene transforms again, and Kyungsoo’s eyes soften from horrified to amused. They’re still inside the palace, but all the chaos around them has resolved. Kyungsoo’s laughing, grinning so fondly at Jongin.

 

“Oh ho! You’re just letting me win,” the prince chides him. “There’s no way you’d leave your weak side open two times in a row, Jongin.”

They’re practicing. Training the crown prince in swordplay is a key duty of the seja-igwisa, and Jongin takes the role seriously. Most of the time. He can’t help but indulge Kyungsoo a win now and then when he’s put in hard work for a session but hasn’t managed to score a blow. His heart enjoys the proud smile the prince wears when he’s able to best Jongin.

Kyungsoo whacks their practice swords together, challenging him. “Come on,” he taunts with a mischievous grin that does all kinds of things to Jongin. “Come and get me.”

The dream dissolves away, and Jongin wakes to bright daylight filtering through the screen door. He can’t be sure how long he’s slept, but it’s enough.

“I’m coming, Kyungsoo,” he murmurs, answering the fading remnants of his vision. He gathers his horse, and treks back to the man of his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please listen to [King by Lauren Aquilina](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS5GfL9F7L4). It perfectly captures Jongin's contemplative mood while he's making his wish at the top of the mountain over Chungju: "Let him one day be king, the greatest one Joseon has ever seen."
> 
> A reader sent me the song after I wrote this section of the story, and I agree it fits perfectly here. <3 Hope you enjoyed ghe cameos of 100dmp drama characters in this ch.
> 
> Talk to me in the comments!
> 
> at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	9. Chapter 9

“Oh, you’re back!” Chanyeol and Baekhyun are sitting in the clinic’s courtyard as Jongin walks up, favoring his right side just a touch.

“Is it him?” Kyungsoo’s voice filters out from inside the clinic, anxious edge to his words.

“Are you alright?” Chanyeol asks, looking at the cut on Jongin’s cheek.

“IS IT HIM.” Kyungsoo’s voice repeats the words with impatient authority.

“Yes, it’s him,” Baek supplies. “Stay put, he’s coming in--”

Kyungsoo bursts through the front door, ignoring Baekhyun’s words completely, and has Jongin enveloped in an embrace in the blink of an eye. 

 

Jongin sags against Kyungsoo’s shoulder and sighs with relief that the prince is still here, unharmed, and not too angry with him for how he left.

“Don’t think this means I’ve forgiven you,” Kyungsoo mumbles.

Well, so much for that.

“Hate to break up the reunion, but we should probably continue keeping - _ His Highness- _ out of the public eye,” Baekhyun drops his voice to a whisper when saying Kyungsoo’s title.

Lifting his head off Kyungsoo’s shoulder, Jongin acknowledges the warning and recognizes how the two men had been keeping watch outside the clinic. “Thank you,” he says sincerely.

Before releasing Jongin from his arms, Kyungsoo gives him a tight squeeze, which makes him wince in pain. “What’s wrong?” he asks in alarm, immediately looking at Jongin’s face with concern. The furrow in Kyungsoo’s brow grows more severe as he notices the cut on his cheek. “What happened?”

“I’m okay,” Jongin tries to insist as they all usher him into the clinic. 

Kyungsoo immediately goes to move a writing table by his silk pallet out of the way and points, ordering Jongin, “Sit down.”

Jongin does as he’s told and Yixing enters the space.

“Examine him and treat his injuries,” Kyungsoo demands. His princely demeanor is back in full force, either because he has remembered himself or finally feels comfortable wielding his usual authority now that these trusted friends know the truth about his identity.

“I’m okay,” Jongin repeats. “It was just a punch, honestly.”

Kyungsoo simply gives him a look that has his guard bowing his head and falling silent. He allows Yixing to lightly palpate his right and then left side, wincing noticeably when the physician presses on one particular rib.

“There? Let’s remove your jeogori,” Yixing gestures for Jongin to remove his top. Kyungsoo remains standing in the room, moving to get a better view and leaning back against the wall, eyes glued to Jongin as he does as requested.

 

“Oh,” Yixing says, clucking his tongue. Jongin’s right side has a deep black and blue bruise along the side. The physician feels up and down the ribcage as gently as he can. “The good news is that I don’t think the rib is broken. We can prepare a cold dressing for the bruise, and once the swelling goes down tonight, I’ll be better able to assess it. Wait here.”

Yixing leaves the room, and Kyungsoo pushes off the wall and moves closer, eyes roaming over Jongin’s torso several times before settling on the injured area.

“Who did this to you? I’ll kill them.”

“Too late,” Jongin grunts with a half smile.

Kyungsoo eyes immediately flick up to meet his own, no trace of amusement in them. “What happened?”

“An assassin looking to kill the Crown Prince confronted me in the woods near Chungju. I dispatched of him.”

Kyungsoo gently strokes down Jongin’s cheek, beneath the small cut, petting over the area several times. “I don’t like people getting hurt on my behalf,” he murmurs, drawing closer with his soft lips and leaving a delicate kiss on the cut. “Especially not you.”

Yixing shuffles in and turns immediately around when he sees how close the two men are, trying to leave the space as suddenly as he entered it.

“Come bandage him,” Kyungsoo calls authoritatively, eyes never leaving Jongin’s as he gives his cheek one last gentle stroke before standing and moving aside so Yixing can wrap Jongin’s torso with the cool soaked cloth. “I’ll have the others prepare you a meal. You must be hungry,” he says before walking away to the entry door and calling instructions through the cracks.

Chanyeol heats up the leftovers from breakfast while Yixing fastens the wrap securely around Jongin's ribcage. They finish at the same time, and Kyungsoo brings the food to him as the physician bows and leaves them, sliding the door to the patients’ room closed for privacy.

As he begins to eat, Kyungsoo sits across from him and tells him:

“Jongin, I remember now. I remember everything.”

Kyungsoo forces him to eat, insisting he will only speak after Jongin feeds himself. “The journal was a good idea. It took me a bit, but I forced myself to keep writing and had a breakthrough yesterday.”

Jongin eats as quickly as he can, blowing steam off the rice and swallowing in large gulps. “What’d you write about?”

“Just whatever came to mind.” Kyungsoo tries to keep a straight face, but his ears flush as he grabs the small journal off the table and flips past the first few pages. At a glance, Jongin catches the same phrase written over and over again. 

 

“I remembered that I was journaling in my room the night you left and reached the last page. I needed a new book, but it was quite late, so I didn’t want to wake anyone to fetch it. I went to the library myself to collect one. But I wasn’t the only one there. I stumbled across something I wasn’t supposed to see: Vice Premier Kim burning a royal inventory book.”

 

Jongin’s blood runs cold. The Vice Premier was one of the most powerful men in the palace, and he didn’t get to such a position without stepping on more than a few individuals who tried to get in his way. “What did you do?”

“What could I do? He saw me before I recognized the situation, so I pretended to be disinterested as usual and went about my business in getting a new blank journal. He asked me to bring him one as well, explaining that he was simply updating erroneous records on the kingdom’s resources with more accurate ones. I shrugged and said it was of no interest of mine, handing him a new blank book. He stared at me a long time with his black eyes as he took it from me, saying ‘ _ You’ve always been a smart Crown Prince, leaving politics to those who understand it.’ _ ”

“I told him politics bored me, and feigned apathy, but I don’t think he believed the act. We both knew this was different from the typical ploys where people jockeyed for power: He was stealing from the kingdom. After studying me for a few long seconds, he finally nodded with a respectful bow and bid me a goodnight. I went straight back to my room in case he was planning on following me and went to sleep. I figured I could talk to someone in the bureau of investigation the next day.”

“So you didn’t tell anyone?” Jongin asks. “What about the king?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head no. “I had suspected the premier was stealing from the people’s treasury and using his position for economic manipulation once before, but when I had voiced these concerns to my father, I was reprimanded for bringing suspicion against a beloved figurehead in the palace without any hard proof. And I still didn’t have any, so I wasn’t sure how to proceed.”

Jongin chews on his lower lip, understanding the predicament. “Did you manage to speak to anyone in the bureau the next morning?”

“I didn’t get a chance to, because I woke to a blade to my throat, telling me to get dressed for pheasant hunting.”

Jongin sucks in a deep breath of air. A traitor in his prince’s bed chambers. “How did they-- Why didn’t you call for aid? One of the igwisa would’ve--”

“It was a royal guard who held the dagger to my neck, and then my back as we walked out of the palace together. In that moment, I couldn’t be sure if  _ anyone _ was on my side or if the whole palace was in the premier’s pocket and against me. There was no one I could trust… because you weren’t there.”

Kyungsoo’s words were soft and meant to be reassuring, but the guilt comes washing back over Jongin like a strong tidal wave. It’s his fault, all his fault, for leaving the palace. Jongin drops to a full formal bow, forehead down to the floor. “Wangseja, forgive me.” 

He reaches to his side and grasps his sheathed sword, holding it before him in two hands, offering it to his prince. “I am not worthy to be your guard any longer, having failed to protect you in your greatest time of need.” He doesn’t deserve to be this close to the prince, not as a guard or a friend or… anything else his heart has longed for. Tears well in his eyes and threaten to spill down onto the floor, but Jongin does his best to hold them in. Just as he’s had practice holding in his love for Kyungsoo for years.

Gently, the sword is lifted from his hands. Jongin swallows and closes his eyes, accepting his fate. The soft thud of the sword hitting the silk mattress to his right has his eyes popping back open.

Before him, the crown prince moves the small table of dishes out of the way and then lowers himself carefully to his knees, mirroring Jongin. Kyungsoo reaches for his face with a soft hand, tilting his chin up gently and forcing him to meet his eyes. “Stop this. There was more than one person’s watchful eyes upon me, ensuring I left the palace. I felt surrounded. I’m glad you weren’t there, because if you were, the odds are we would’ve both perished.”

“I’d have gladly died protecting you,” Jongin whispers.

“I know. But I’d prefer this. Tell me, Jongin: Will you  _ live  _ with me? Will you help me keep going, even if I’m no longer a prince?”

 

The vulnerability in Kyungsoo doe eyes is heartbreakingly beautiful. Jongin gasps at the sight, of the royal man he’s loved from afar, kneeling down and meeting him at his level. It occurs to Jongin that Kyungsoo is genuinely worried if he’s still important to him without his royal position, that his love might somehow be conditional on his return to the throne. Impossible.

“You will always be a prince, the only prince of my world. There’s no power on earth that could strip you of that title in my heart.” Nervousness cast aside in favor of reassuring his beloved, Jongin leans forward to kiss Kyungsoo’s soft lips with all the sincerity of his love.

 

Maybe it’s the days apart. Maybe it’s the fact Jongin’s still bare from waist up. Whatever the reason, this kiss blooms and burns through Jongin like a wildfire. One of Kyungsoo’s hands strokes down his bare arm as the other pulls him in closer by the back of his neck. Their mouths are so pliant for each other, lips melding together in a blissful push and pull. Jongin lets his tongue dip inside Kyungsoo’s mouth and shivers at the breathy response he gets, along with a passionate stroke from Kyungsoo’s own tongue.

Jongin circles his arms around his prince as they continue drinking each other in. Something is cemented in this kiss, they can both feel it. Regardless of what comes next, Jongin knows he’ll never be able to ignore his feelings again: He’s tasted paradise now and can’t live without being able to love and be loved by Kyungsoo like this.

The kiss grows increasingly hungry, and then Jongin feels everything tilt sideways as they fall down onto the mattress side by side. He’s rolling onto his back and pulling an eager Kyungsoo atop of him when the bruise on his side flares with pain. He suppresses the yelp but Kyungsoo is already retreating, mumbling apologies against his lips as he strokes over the chilled bandage wrapped against the tender area. It sobers them both up, reminding them where they are.

The kiss slows, mouth brushing ever so gently against each other, as they lay side by side. Kyungsoo stills and gazes deeply into Jongin’s eyes.

“I’m worried,” Kyungsoo admits. “About what will happen if we go back, if there’ll be an open battle or a hidden one I have to fight every day. That  _ you _ might have to fight every day, and I don’t want to put you in danger.”

Jongin feels the temptation to object, but Kyungsoo keeps going. “But I also don’t want to abandon the throne and my people and let the Vice Premier siphon away the kingdom’s assets.”

Jongin sees the struggle in the prince’s eyes, how conflicted he feels about either path. He takes Kyungsoo’s hand in his own, twining their fingers together, and promises him: “Wherever you go, I will follow. To the countryside or the palace, to Beijing or Hanyang, I’ll follow you anywhere, protect you anywhere, love you anywhere. As long as I have breath, I breathe for you… Kyungsoo.”

The promise seems to lift a weight from the prince’s shoulders. Kyungsoo lets out a steady exhale, leaning forward to rest their foreheads together for a long, tender moment.

“You know, I never said you could call me that,” he mumbles, and Jongin freezes. “However. You’re probably the only person who can call me by my name without permission.” He smiles warmly at Jongin and leans in to kiss him once more.

 

It’s silent for a bit as the prince thinks, trying to decide their future. “Would you still call me Kyungsoo if we returned to the palace?” he asks.

Jongin chuckles lightly and hums. “In private.”

Kyungsoo makes a face. “That wouldn’t be all that often.” He shifts and stares up at the ceiling. “We were close before, though. Everyone already knew that. We’d just be… even closer now, since you found me and saved my life,” he concentrates, spinning the story already to keep them inseparable under palace scrutiny. Jongin smiles at the cute way the prince bites on his lower lip as he thinks.

This man’s priorities...

“You have time to decide,” Jongin suggests. “The palace has to consider the sightings of the crown prince, alive and well, in the southern towns. I’d say it’s bought us at least… two or three days delay.”

“Then rest,” Kyungsoo says, stroking over Jongin’s eyes to encourage them to close. “Get better.” He places a tender kiss over his bandaged side, and then raises himself off the floor. He turns to leave the room and Jongin remembers the gold in his pocket.

“Wait, the assassin.” He fumbles into his pocket and holds out the gold to Kyungsoo. “He said you’d know who attacked you, and I found this on his body afterward.”

Kyungsoo takes the nugget and turns it over in his hand a few times. He leans down to kiss Jongin’s cheek and whispers, “You’re an angel.  _ My _ angel. Now rest.” And he quickly leaves the room as Jongin succumbs to sleep.

\--

When Jongin wakes, it’s already dark outside. He sits up slowly, feeling the dull ache in his side as his moves. Not as bad as earlier, but still there. He can hear voices out in the courtyard, so he pulls on his clothes and pokes his head out.

Kyungsoo is sitting with the others around a finished dinner, speaking to them softly. They’re seated rather formally, heads slightly bowed in deference toward the prince at the head of the table. Jongin smiles, feeling somewhat comforted by the familiar scene of other people recognizing Kyungsoo’s majesty. Yixing is the first to notice Jongin, offering him a small nod of acknowledgment but not speaking lest he interrupt the prince.

Kyungsoo notices, though, and turns around to smile at him warmly in greeting. He invites Jongin to come over, patting the seat beside him.

Jongin bows lightly, unsure how to act in front of this audience, and seats himself at Kyungsoo’s right hand where summoned.

“Relax. They know.”

“They do?” Jongin glances around the table.

“Would be hard not to given your dramatic proclamation as you rode off,” Baekhyun mumbles cheekily. Chanyeol tries and fails to stifle a laugh.

Right, their confrontation wasn’t exactly... subtle.

“So I’ve decided they need to come with us.”

Jongin jerks his head up, staring straight into Kyungsoo’s eyes, searching them for answers. “With us to…?”

A soft hand covers Jongin’s, as Kyungsoo says with a hesitant smile. “To the palace.”

Jongin can’t contain his happiness, proud smile blooming on his face. “When do we leave?”

“When you’re healed.”

“I’m fine.”

“Then when  _ I’m _ healed.”

That stops Jongin in his tracks. He looks at Yixing for information. “A few more days wouldn’t hurt to ensure His Highness is fully recovered from the concussion.” 

Kyungsoo strokes over his knuckles gently. “Time is our friend. I sent a message ahead of us. Let’s just… enjoy the quiet while we can.”

The softness of the prince’s gaze and tone imparts the wishes of his heart. Jongin understands, wanting to preserve the time together in the relative peace of a small village, since much uncertainty lies ahead back inside the palace walls. Uncertainty and responsibility - he can see it weighing on the crown prince’s shoulders now.

“Okay,” Jongin whispers in agreement, drinking in how the moonlight glances off of Kyungsoo’s pale cheeks. The others, made uncomfortable by the intimate atmosphere surrounding the prince and his guard, stand up and hustle away under the guise of needing to heat up a meal for Jongin.

\--

They spend the next two days readying for their journey, procuring a horse and sword for Kyungsoo through Yixing’s network of friends who owe him for past treatment. The goodwill he has built up in the town goes a long way in helping them fill their needs without any prying questions, people anxious to help their benevolent physician.

Jongin’s cut heals and the inflammation in his side is reduced to barely noticeable levels. Enough so that he insists Kyungsoo and him get in at least one round of sparring practice, just in case they meet trouble along the way.

“Let’s just do some drills. No sparring,” Kyungsoo insists after they go out to the fields.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to hit you while you’re bruised. Plus, there’s no point. You always let me win.”

Jongin sheepishly rubs the back of his neck, surprised the prince picked up on that fact, and shrugs. “I always want to see you win.”

Kyungsoo chuckles and shakes his head. “Okay but no more.” He runs his hand down Jongin’s sleeve, lacing their fingers together at the end. He looks at Jongin with solemn eyes. “Once we’re back, promise you’ll fight with me sincerely. Challenge me. Make me better. And not just in swordfighting.”

Jongin swallows thickly, not sure how but more than willing to help share the prince’s burdens. “Okay.”

A simple brush of their lips, and they set about their work, going through a few different drills to sharpen their blade skills.

When Jongin’s satisfied, they stop practicing and start to head back toward the village. Before they leave the edge of the field, Kyungsoo stops and tugs Jongin back by the hand.

Jongin obeys and looks at him with a puzzled look. “What is it?”

“Just… stand here with me a moment.” Kyungsoo tips his head back, basking in the warmth of the afternoon sun and squeezing Jongin’s hand in his own. The prince looks so peaceful, Jongin is content to simply stare, enjoying the breeze ripple through the tall grasses around them.

A minute later, Kyungsoo flutters his eyes open again. “I want you to know that no matter what happens, that here, over the past week with you, I was happy.”

“I was, too.” Jongin says, touched by the sweet words, but not liking the foreboding feeling welling up inside him. He pulls the prince into a close embrace, kissing him firmly to distract from the tightness in his chest.

Kyungsoo returns the kiss in equal measure, stroking along Jongin’s jawline and then gently down his neck. He can sense Jongin’s uneasiness and softens the kiss, murmuring reassuringly, “It’ll be alright. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just wanted to properly commit all of this to memory.”

Jongin isn’t sure if that’s the whole truth, but he nods, relaxing his hold around Kyungsoo’s waist and indulging in one more soft press of their lips.

Kyungsoo bumps their noses together before pulling back and asking with determination in his eyes: “Now, shall we go reclaim my throne?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading this chapter and rereading through it, I must say... this may be the most romantic Jongin I have ever written /swoon/ I hope you enjoyed his declarations and promise to follow Kyungsoo anywhere, as well as the prince's confession of being truly happy here in this quiet farm town TT_TT
> 
> *My fest fic for Our Love As One was revealed: I wrote [Push the Pedal Down](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17116379) :) Check it out if you like boarding school + teen rebels Kaisoo with a healthy side of pining.
> 
> See you soon for the final chapter <3
> 
> at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	10. Chapter 10

The five of them set off for Hanyang. They decide it’s best for Kyungsoo to stay in plain clothes, on the off chance that they run across anyone still searching for the Crown Prince in the north.

Traveling as a pack like this is actually a wise move, Jongin decides. They blend in perfectly with Baekhyun’s cart filled with his calligraphy wares and Yixing’s many medicinal bottles. They appear to be run of the mill merchants, making a business trip along the main road. The few people they encounter give them no special attention as they pass by. Jongin keeps one hand ready by his sword as a precaution anyway. 

They stop to rest under the shade of a tree before crossing a bridge over the river that supposedly drowned the crown prince. Feeling uneasy, Jongin sits closer to Kyungsoo than required, situating himself between the prince and the river bank, despite the water moving at a lazy pace at this cross point. Kyungsoo doesn’t complain, though, welcoming the closeness and resting his head on Jongin’s shoulder as the group shares prepared rice balls and tea for lunch.

When Jongin insists that Kyungsoo ride with him to cross the river, it does trigger an eyebrow raise. “You do realize I never fell in the water, right?” the prince teases, but he happily climbs up onto the back of Jongin’s horse, wrapping his arms tightly around his guard, humoring him.

“It’s nice to give Yixing’s legs a rest from walking,” Jongin mumbles the flimsy excuse, watching the physician mount up on Kyungsoo’s horse. He places a hand over Kyungsoo’s where it feels warm and reassuring on his stomach, holding the prince securely to him, and uses his other to gently shake the reins and start them forth.

They ride tandem for a short while, until the river can’t be seen nor heard, and reshuffle their traveling positions so Kyungsoo is back atop his own horse. Despite it being the hottest part of day, Jongin misses the comforting warmth of his prince draped on his back, the occasional press of his soft lips to his neck. They’re drawing closer to their destination, though, as the sun begins to set, and Jongin needs to stay vigilant and as free from distraction as possible, so it’s probably for the best. 

As they see the city of Hanyang in the distance, Jongin feels mixed emotions swirl inside him. He looks to Kyungsoo and sees a similar mix of trepidation and relief at seeing the city where he’s lived his whole life. Kyungsoo catches his glance and gives him a closed-mouthed smile in return. “Home sweet home,” he says glibly.

Now, to get inside safely.

Before they had set out on their journey, Kyungsoo forged papers that resembled a request for Yixing’s services at a clinic within the city walls to gain them entrance. Yixing laughed, informing them he had been invited on more than one occasion to that very clinic, but declined for one reason or another each time. He was, of course, more than willing to play along this time.

Ever graceful, Yixing presents the document kindly and handles the talking at the gate.

They make it through gate security with a few suspicious glances because Kyungsoo forgets to keep his head low on more than one occasion. Once inside the busy streets of Hanyang, Jongin sticks tightly to the prince’s side, and leads them to Junmyeon’s house. Hopefully, the official can catch them up to speed on the state of affairs in the palace.

“I’m sorry, the master is not in right now, but he has been anticipating your arrival for the past day. He left a message for you.” Junmyeon’s house servant quickly ushers them all inside and fetches an envelope with a bundle of clothes from a small cupboard.

_“Change into your palace clothes immediately. You’re not safe in the city. There are several informants who will not hesitate to take the Crown Prince’s life while he can still be confused for a regular citizen. Come to the palace with haste!”_

Kyungsoo and Jongin’s eyes meet as they finish reading the note, and they nod in agreement, sorting out the palace clothing provided for them. But before they can shed their outer robes to change, four men burst into the courtyard, swords drawn.

Jongin’s sword is out in the blink of an eye, and he tries to corral the prince behind him, but his protective hand is brushed aside as Kyungsoo draws his blade, too. There’s no time to argue. The assassins surge forward together and the air is filled with clashing iron on iron.

Jongin parries the first swings at his head, getting two swordsmen’s blades at once in his counterstrike and blowing them back a few steps. He can hear Kyungsoo engage the other assassins beside him, and he shifts so they can protect each other’s weak sides, fighting off the attackers while back to back. “Chanyeol! Help him!” Jongin bellows as he blocks another series of blows from the assassins focused on him.

In his periphery, he sees Chanyeol grab a long-handled gardening hoe from their wagon and take a swing at the closest attacker, striking the man’s hip and getting him to whirl away from the prince to deal with Chanyeol. Jongin skillfully parries another strike from one of his opponents, swirling their blades in an arc and pivoting so he can grabbing the man by the wrist and use both their swords to catch a blow from the other assassin, trapping the steel on its flat sides and twisting to relinquish it from the man’s hand. Jongin roughly kicks the attacker in the chest as his sword falls to the ground. He somersaults away from opponent that is still armed, grabbing the loose sword on the ground by the hilt as he moves. Jongin stands back up with one weapon in each hand now, braced and ready. The unarmed assassin staggers further back, assesses the situation, and flees for his life.

While the other partner readies himself for another assault, Jongin hears Baekhyun’s shrill yell behind him and chances a quick glance. Chanyeol is attempting to fend off his attacker, using the hoe in two hands to block with the long wooden handle, while Baek throws calligraphy brushes and inkwells, anything he can get his hands on really, from the wagon, the debris pelting the two assassins battling away at Yeol and Kyungsoo. In the background, Yixing is hurrying toward them from the house with a broom that he’s found, trying to use the wooden end as a baton to whack at the ribs of Chanyeol’s opponent from behind.

With a sword tightly gripped in each hand, Jongin quickly advances on the assassin before him, forcing the man to block his first swipe, and slashing him viciously across the stomach with his next blow. A sweep of the legs brings the man down onto his back with a thud, blood spilling out onto the dirt. Jongin kicks the felled man’s sword away before spinning around to deal with the opponent who dares clash swords with his prince.

Kyungsoo has been holding his own, spryly dodging each jab and landing a glancing blow on his opponent’s shoulder, the assassin’s black sleeve hanging by torn threads where a small gash bleeds down his arm.

Once Jongin joins the prince’s fight, the man has no chance. With Kyungsoo on the offensive and engaging the attacker’s one blade, Jongin slices at the assassin’s legs first and throat next, wasting no time. He crumples to the ground, and Jongin keeps moving to slide between Chanyeol and his attacker, ducking one blow and quickly disarming the man with a skillful flourish.

“On your knees,” he grits out, kicking the assassin in the stomach and crossing his blades, laying one on each side of the neck and ready to pull through at a moment’s notice. “Speak or lose your head, it’s your choice.”

Kyungsoo walks to Jongin’s side, placing a hand on his shoulder. The weight of it does wonders in calming Jongin. It carries the certainty that the prince is okay, they’re okay, and with a gentle squeeze, Kyungsoo affirms he is in control.

The crown prince speaks, authority ringing through each word. “How did you know we had arrived?”

The hired hitman keeps his eyes low, defeated. “An informant was stationed at the front gates, someone who works for my master that is familiar with your face. He tailed your party here and sent for us.”

“Are there more coming?”

“Likely, though probably not as trained. Our master has several thugs willing to work for him in Hanyang.” His eyes flit to Kyungsoo for a brief second before returning to the dirt. “We’re charged with preventing the crown prince from reaching the palace gates at all costs.”

Jongin looks at Kyungsoo, brows twisted in concern. “We have to get you to the palace. Now.”

Kyungsoo purses his lips and turns to look at the rest of their group, Yixing carefully looking over Chanyeol’s knuckles which suffered a few cuts in the melee and Baekhyun sitting on the ground short of breath from exertion. “We can’t leave them here. They’re not safe.”

“We’ll head to the clinic we were supposedly coming to see,” Yixing suggests. “We’ll have to leave the wagon but we’ll take some of the more valuable medicines and pay a visit. We should be able to blend in.”

Jongin nods in agreement. “Go change, Wangseja,” he pleads. With another gentle squeeze of Jongin’s shoulder, Kyungsoo heads back inside.

“You’re coming with us,” Jongin tells the assassin. “Serve as a witness and perhaps your life will be spared.” He keeps the captive subdued while Kyungsoo adorns himself with his royal clothes.

It’s so nice seeing his crown prince back in his usual garb, Jongin can’t help but smile. He’ll stand out on the streets of Hanyang, certainly, but they have to bank on that being more of a benefit to clearing the way than painting him as a target, Junmyeon having concluded the attention was more likely to dissuade an audacious attack on the prince. It’s a risk they’ll have to take.

Kyungsoo takes over guard duty while Jongin changes as well, slipping back into his official palace uniform.

They equip Junmyeon’s servant and Chanyeol each with an assassin’s sword for safe travel to the clinic, and bind the hostage’s hands with rope.  Kyungsoo surveys the mess in the courtyard, strewn with two dead bodies and a wide array of Baekhyun and Yixing’s belongings, and tells them, “I’m sorry for this. Your help will never be forgotten.”

“It was our honor, Your Highness,” Yixing says sincerely. They bow before the prince as he and Jongin leave, with Jongin dragging the captured assassin along with one hand.

Straight to the palace gates they go.

It’s dusk, and the light is fading quickly out of the sky. Nonetheless, citizens of Hanyang immediately take notice of Kyungsoo, striding in his ornate robe, as they pass by, walking in double-time toward the palace.

“Your Majesty!”

“The Crown Prince lives!”

The townsfolk bow deeply, several falling to a knee, to acknowledge the return of their prince. While Jongin appreciates the respect, he nervously scans the crowds that are starting to gather along the sides of the pathways as word quickly spreads that Prince Kyungsoo is here. Every newcomer is a potential threat, and his eyes can’t keep up with the number of people flooding toward the streets they’re on.

Jongin walks closer to Kyungsoo, protectively laying a hand on his back as he suggests they move even faster. The prince nods and they hustle around a bend in the road, Jongin yanking on the rope to force their bound hostage to match their pace. Just a few more turns until they’ll be at the palace gate.

A reverential hush falls over the crowd lining the next street as they become visible, the people bowing almost in unison. It’s by this good fortune that Jongin hears the bow string twang moments before the arrow reaches them and shields Kyungsoo with his body, bending them in half to duck the attack.

The arrow sinks with a sickening sound, straight into the throat of their hostage. The man drops to the ground, a bloody mess, and a woman nearby screams. There’s no time to wonder if the arrow found its mark or if it struck the assassin instead of Kyungsoo by accident. Jongin has but one priority: to get the man he loves to safety.

"Run!” he yells, dropping the rope connected to the now deceased hostage. He and Kyungsoo sprint down the road as the citizens flee in a disorganized mob, all trying to get away from the street and out of any attackers’ way.

Another arrow flies past them and shatters a ceramic pot in a shopkeeper’s stall. Jongin curses and latches onto Kyungsoo’s bicep as they continue running as fast as they can. They make another turn and are headed straight toward the palace now, their goal in sight.

 

“Make way for the Crown Prince!” Jongin bellows as they rush to the gate, full tilt. By luck or design, it’s thankfully Sehun standing guard, eyes blown wide as he yells for the gates to open for the prince. Jongin and Kyungsoo barrel past the threshold with Sehun protectively on their heels, and palace guards close the wooden doors behind them as soon as they slip through, shielding them from any additional volleys.

 

“Your Highness, are you alright?” Sehun asks as they catch their breath. Jongin’s one hand is still gripping onto Kyungsoo’s arm possessively, and he runs the other hand over the prince’s robe, dusting off his front and checking worriedly for any signs of injury.

Sehun clears his throat, muttering “Seja-igwisa!” and giving him a concerned look. It’s only then that Jongin remembers where they are, and how inappropriate he’s being toward the Crown Prince. His hand slowly falls off of Kyungsoo’s sleeve, but Kyungsoo grasps it as it passes by and squeezes.

“I’m okay,” he says warmly. He fondles Jongin’s palm in a light, loving gesture before he lets his hand fall. A secret, intimate stroke. Jongin’s heart flutters in his chest. So this will be the kind of exchanges he’ll get to have with Kyungsoo inside the palace. A love language that the two of them will invent, to speak their affections in plain sight without being caught.

Jongin reimagines so many of their close moments inside these palace walls, further made special by a light touch here, a soft word there, an intimate whisper with the change to brush a kiss along an earlobe as he pulls away. He can’t wait to love his prince in all these new ways.

But first things first. “Junmyeon has been anticipating your arrival, delaying as much as he could,” Sehun explains. “There’s a council meeting happening right now, to settle once and for all if a new crown prince will be installed. You should hurry, Highness.”

“I’m going with him,” Jongin states plainly, giving Sehun orders before he leaves. “Send out a special set of guards to look for the persons who dared to attack the Crown Prince in the streets of Hanyang. Have them interview civilians who witnessed the assault.”

“Yes, sir!” Sehun says with vigor.

Jongin nods his appreciation, and quickly escorts Kyungsoo to the throne hall to face the king and palace council.

“I’ll be right here in the wings,” Jongin reassures him, hating that he can’t enter the main throne room at Kyungsoo’s side. They’re back in the palace where his station is clear, and no one of his position is granted a voice in such proceedings. When they approach the central doors to the throne room, a guard perks up immediately at their appearance.

“Your Highness!” Doyoung bows deeply. “We prayed for your safe return.”

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo mumbles. “Please open the door.”

“Yes, of course, Highness.” Doyoung hurriedly pulls the wooden door and Jongin announces Kyungsoo’s presence to the room with a booming voice to demand their respect.

“His Majesty, the Crown Prince!”

 

The councilmen in the room all gape as Kyungsoo strides inside, a slow ripple effect of bows following his wake along with a low hush of voices mumbling.

“Is… is it really you?” the king exclaims, rising surprisedly in his seat.

“See, Your Majesty? The sightings were reliable,” a councilmember from the left side of the room proclaims. Several palace officials next to him, Junmyeon included in their company, mumble their agreement while glaring across the aisle at several men on the other side of the room. “Which should cast into serious question why _some_ ministers were so quick to dismiss them.”

Jongin follows their gaze and sees the Vice Premier and a few others exchanging uneasy glances with each other and the crown prince. He moves silently along the wall toward the right side exit so he is stationed as close to this group as possible.

“I presume it was the Vice Premier who urged you to ignore the reported sightings,” Kyungsoo says, deep voice carrying throughout the room.

“Why do you say that?” his father asks.

“Because he’s responsible for my disappearance in the first place.”

Unfortunately, before the idea has a chance to take hold with the council, the king immediately disregards it, sitting back down on his throne with a sigh and holding up a hand to silence his son. “Nonsense, he was in this very room when the hunting party returned with word of your accident. I realized you do not approve of the Vice Premier’s status in this court, Wangseja, but I’d rather you not use the celebratory occasion of returning home as a moment to exercise political sway.”

 _Celebratory occasion._ Such an odd choice of words. Jongin is disheartened with how _nonchalantly_ the court seems to receive Kyungsoo back. Even the council members on Junmyeon’s side of the room seem more intrigued than genuinely pleased by the crown prince’s return. How can they overlook Kyungsoo this way, this man that Jongin so deeply admires? His heart aches.

Luckily, Kyungsoo doesn’t seem affected, stubbornly forging on. “I need the court to hear the truth. The Vice Premier has been stealing from the people’s gold stores for years. The night before I disappeared, I witnessed him burning palace inventory records to hide his tracks.” Kyungsoo’s statement sends a mild shockwave through the throne room. Even the officials standing nearby the Vice Premier seem surprised by the allegation.

The Vice Premier bows lightly toward the king, unflappable. “Your Majesty, the crown prince is simply mistaken, likely confusing some ridiculous daydream with reality.” He brushes off Kyungsoo’s accusation with such condescension, Jongin’s blood boils. “This delusion must be a result of his poor condition. Let us have the palace physician take him under his care. He suffered a traumatic fall at the river, and his wits are not about him.”

Kyungsoo turns to address the Vice Premier directly, glaring as he levels every word at him. “I _fell_ because you threatened a palace guard, that you would kill him, his wife, and three children, if he did not murder me to cover up your heinous deeds. Luckily, Minseok could not bring himself to properly commit treason, and let me flee down the cliff by the river, hoping my disappearance would be enough to satisfy you. But I’m guessing it did not.”

There is a low rumble throughout the court until the Minister of Education beside the Vice Premier explains, defensive but looking unsure of himself, “He was executed, but for failing to _protect_ you during your pheasant hunt, Highness.”

Kyungsoo sneers in disgust, taking one step closer to the Vice Premier. “You planned to kill him either way. And tell me, how is Kim Minseok’s family fairing?”

A councilman on the other side of the aisle, behind Kyungsoo, speaks up. “...they left the city due to their grief, I heard.”

“I certainly hope that’s the case as opposed to the alternative,” Kyungsoo says, voice full of icy disbelief.

“These are grave accusations, Crown Prince.” The king looks highly unsettled, glancing between his most trusted advisor and his eldest son. “What corroboration can you provide?”

Junmyeon speaks up. “Your Majesty, with regards to the gold inventory, I had my investigation team visit the mines for their original records a few days ago, to make comparisons with the ones here in the royal library. The head miner gave me his copies, and the bureau has found several discrepancies thus far, going back to as early as five years ago.”

The Vice Premier sternly rebukes Junmyeon. “That  is an outrageous abuse of your jurisdiction. Requesting government documents? On whose authority?!”

“Mine,” Kyungsoo announces simply, drawing all attention back to him standing in the center of the room, power and authority radiating off of him. With his voice firm and head held high, Jongin thinks some of the court finally see him for _precisely_ who he is: Crown Prince, Heir to the throne, and force to be reckoned with.

“Even if the records are wrong, I had nothing to do with that!” The Vice Premier’s calm exterior begins to finally crack, showing scenes of true fear. “My king, this is clearly political maneuvering by Minister Kim and his companions.” He gestures wildly at the other side of the room. “They’re framing me for crimes _they_ likely committed and using the Crown Prince as a pawn here to garner your sympathy.”

“I am no one’s pawn,” Kyungsoo coldly and firmly proclaims.

“Then why are you meddling? Since when do you care about the state’s affairs??” The Vice Premier spits out the words with such venom that half the court recoils and Jongin unsheathes his sword, prepared to charge forward if necessary.

The king points aggressively at the VP. “Remember your place! How dare you speak to the Crown Prince with such a harsh tone.”

Kyungsoo remains in his spot, refusing to be intimidated by his enemy. “I may have no interest in the ‘state’s affairs’ as you see them, but I have always cared about the people of this kingdom. Unlike you, thief.”

Jongin watches as the people near the Vice Premier take a visible step back and away from the man, all regarding him suspiciously now that the prince has labelled him and his ugly ambitions so clearly.

Looking panicked, the Vice Premier roars, turning to plead his case to the council. “These are lies or misunderstandings! That-- that guard was acting on his own accord. I would never ask anyone to harm the Crown Prince!”

“Then why would the assassin who attempted to take my life a few days ago outside of Chungju have this on him?” Kyungsoo pulls out the nugget of gold and holds it up for all the council to see.

There’s a collective gasp from the crowd as they take in the shiny gold, this last piece of physical evidence providing the final piece of the puzzle.

Another councilman points at the Vice Premier and announces, “You sent your closest guard to Chungju earlier this week!” With that, the room positively erupts with noise, and the King stands from his throne, aghast.

The Vice Premier, recognizing, he has no friend left who’ll defend him, turns to flee the building, dodging a few angry officials and almost reaching the side door before he runs straight into Jongin with his readied sword. Jongin presses the edge of the blade into the Vice Premier’s neck, just hard enough to draw a thin line of blood from the skin, and narrows his eyes. “Take one more step, and I will cut you down right here,” Jongin warns him viciously. “It would bring me such pleasure, you have no idea. So please. Give me an excuse.”

With terrified eyes, the Vice Premier freezes. Doyoung and another palace guard step forth at Jongin’s bidding and bind the disgraced official’s hands behind his back. “Take him to a holding cell until the Crown Prince can decide a suitable punishment for him,” Jongin orders.

“Yes, Seja-igwisa!” they acknowledge, dragging the stricken Vice Premier away.

With the threat neutralized, Jongin turns his attention back to the center of the room. Amid the chaos and noise, Jongin cranes his head, searching frantically in the crowd until he sees Kyungsoo, standing calmly before his father and receiving the king’s embrace. Their eyes meet, and Kyungsoo smiles at him. The commotion around them blurs from Jongin’s vision as he smiles back, heart finally at peace.

 

The Crown Prince has made it home at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \o/  
> Epilogue to follow in a few days <3
> 
> at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


	11. Epilogue

*Epilogue - Six Months Later*

It’s been an arduous process, sussing out anyone who knew of the Vice Premier’s devious scheme. After some bargaining for his life, the Vice Premier turned in his closest business partner who confessed to assisting with the stealing of gold but not knowing of the plan to murder the Crown Prince. Many other court officials were questioned and some dismissed, the king now preferring to take a proactive approach to eliminate potential traitors rather than end up shielding threats to his family or the people’s treasury.

The palace physician was one such casualty, given his suspiciously close relationship with the Vice Premier. Luckily, the Crown Prince is quick to suggest a suitable replacement: Yixing and Chanyeol come to reside in the palace the next day and immediately get to work updating the medical practices for the royal family and friends. They are permitted to hire Baekhyun as a scribe for the medical texts that detail their new techniques and herbal remedies. A few months in, and the court has never been healthier.

  


As for the Crown Prince and his guard, Kyungsoo uses the persistent concern about enemies in their midst as an excuse to keep Jongin particularly close. He was a mainstay at Kyungsoo’s side before, but Jongin now walks closer, stands guard nearer, and is included in virtually all of the Crown Prince’s activities. 

Including his bath routine each night. It started as a simple request to brush out the prince’s hair because he did “such a good job the first time.” Halfway through detangling his hair, Jongin was caught off guard by Kyungsoo grabbing him by the collar and pulling him into the tub. 

“Oops. Your uniform is all wet. Guess you have to take it off,” Kyungsoo said cheekily.

After getting over the shock of being in the water with a naked Crown Prince, Jongin wasted no time ridding himself of his clothes and pinning Kyungsoo back against the tub wall with a fierce kiss. In the privacy of the prince’s bathroom, amid floating rose petals, they could finally express their love openly. Hot breaths mixed love confessions with fervent kisses, their tender words accompanied by passionate touches. Bath water sloshed onto the floor with the movements of their coupling, the sound somewhat drowning out the moans passing between them as they fulfilled their burning desires.

Afterwards, Jongin scrambled on wobbly legs to find enough towels to clean up the flooded room.

“Next time,” Kyungsoo panted, still in the bath and surveying the mess, “I’ll ask them to fill the tub only half full.” The smirk on his lips made it evident he was completely unrepentant. Jongin didn’t hesitate to throw a wet towel at his face, much to Kyungsoo’s delight at his willingness to behave so informally. “Oh ho! Such disrespect. Should I punish you later?” he quipped with a suggestive brow. 

Naughty prince.

Wet ‘n’ wild baths aside, the two do their best to keep up all appearances of decorum. Both Jongin and the Crown Prince are alarmed, then, when during one of their afternoon strolls in the gardens, the king sends a messenger to summon the Seja-igwisa. Kyungsoo grasps Jongin’s wrist, preventing him from following the king’s servant.

“He-- he can’t leave me unprotected,” the prince protests.

“Seja-igwisa, the king insisted that you come promptly,” the messenger replies, eyes respectfully low and not directly contradicting Kyungsoo, but making it clear that the Crown Prince does not have proper authority to overrule the king.

“Yes, I understand,” Jongin says, moving to follow the messenger while casting a brave smile at his prince.  _ It’ll be okay, _ he tries to project, despite his apprehension.

“Well I’m coming, too, then,” Kyungsoo insists. He hastily catches up to walk by Jongin’s side, together to the king’s private quarters.

When they arrive, only Jongin is granted an audience with the king, the Crown Prince being forced by his father to wait outside the room. Jongin’s heart thrums nervously as he bows deeply before the king.

“I see you participating regularly in court matters, weighing in when requested by the Crown Prince.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Jongin admits. He only speaks when spoken to, but it has become somewhat of a frequent occurrence, both in the prince’s instructional time with the scholars and during court policy hearings. “I apologize if that is overstepping my bounds,” he says, head low.

“It is,” the king says simply, and Jongin’s blood runs cold. “But given that the palace officials have only positive things to say about your input, I was wondering if you would be interested in a promotion.”

Jongin’s surprise is evident on his face. “Promotion, Your Highness?”

“Given all of the recent dismissals, there are several advisory positions in my court that are currently open. For example, we need a new Minister of War,” the king explains, leaning forward as he checks Jongin’s interest.

“That is very generous, Your Majesty.” Jongin gives a grateful bow before straightening back up. “But I’m afraid I must decline.”

The king reclines back on his throne. “Is that so? But it would be a great honor and advancement for you.”

“With all due respect, Your Highness, to me, there is no greater honor than serving and protecting our Crown Prince, the future of our kingdom.”

“Ah, I see. Are you certain? You don’t want time to think it over?”

“Time will not change how I feel,” Jongin replies confidently. 

The king is quiet for a moment, watching Jongin intently before softening markedly. “Well, I am satisfied,” he declares, standing up. He walks down to Jongin’s level and clasps him on both shoulders with two warm hands. “I couldn’t be positive until now, if you were trying to gain Kyungsoo’s trust just to rise in the ranks of the palace. Your unequivocal decline to be one of my highest ranking advisors puts that fear to rest.”

Jongin tries not to trip over his words, a bit overwhelmed by the jovial tone and unabashed touchiness of the king, whose hands still rest on his shoulders fondly. “I-- I assure you my devotion is sincere, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, I can see that,” he replies, beaming at Jongin in a way that feels very different than a king appreciating a servant. “You may go. And Kyungsoo,” he calls a little louder. “You can stop eavesdropping and come in here so I may speak with you a moment.”

Kyungsoo enters as Jongin exits, giving his guard an apologetic smile. As they walk past each other, their hands brush and pinky fingers curl around each other for a fleeting moment, as is their customary way of communicating in passing when around others in the palace. It’s become so automatic, to tell each other  _ ‘I love you’ _ in this quiet gesture, that they do it on reflex without thinking about their current audience.

  


Jongin waits outside the room, pacing lightly and trying to settle his nerves. That went about as well as he could hope, right? Or did he make a mistake in refusing the king’s offer and is now going to be dismissed from the palace completely?

Kyungsoo returns to him a few short minutes later with a happy smile. He grabs Jongin’s hand, surprising him, and pulls Jongin to follow him into a quiet hallway within the king’s quarters. “He knows, about us,” Kyungsoo says, embracing Jongin tightly and babbling out the rest. “He knows and he doesn’t care. I told him my half-brother can get married and have babies to continue the royal line and have succession, and he’s thrilled I’m okay with that, that this means no rivalry in the family over the throne.”

“He’s… he’s really okay with us?” Jongin asks, still stunned as he returns the hug.

Kyungsoo leaves his arms looped around Jongin’s waist as he grins up at him. “He mentioned there are rumors about your motives for being so close to me, but so long as we continue to keep a reasonably low profile, he’ll deny the chatter and define you as a ‘trusted member of the royal family.’”

Forget the royal aspect: To be accepted by Kyungsoo’s father as worthy to be part of his beloved’s family… it’s more than Jongin’s heart could’ve ever hoped for. 

.

The rest of the day passes as a happy blur. Jongin feels like his head is up in the clouds. He’s still processing everything that night as he stands guard outside the Crown Prince’s bed chamber. To think, half a year ago, he worried he may never see the prince again, and now he will never have to leave his side or see him married off to another. It’s almost too much happiness for one heart to hold.

“Seja-igwisa,” Kyungsoo calls from inside his room.

“Yes, my prince?” he calls back.

“I’m in need of your help. Bring your sword.”

Jongin bites back a smile and quickly checks up and down the hallway before slipping inside the prince’s chambers. “I don’t think that’s what the king meant when he asked for us to stay subtle,” he chastises, stepping closer while fighting a delighted grin.

“I spent years trying that. Sorry, I love you too much to be subtle anymore,” Kyungsoo says before pulling him into a deep kiss, not sounding sorry at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /draws the screen doors of the Crown Prince's bedquarters closed in slowmo, dramatic fashion/
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the story and their happy ending <3 Jongin will serve his prince and future king for all his days, and there will be no spiteful queen sideplot like in 100dmp. I loved watching Kyungsoo perform so well in the role of Lee Yool/Wondeuk, and had a lot of fun writing this story alongside it.
> 
> Talk to me in the comments! I always reply. Hit me up on Twitter if you wanna chat. Thanks for reading :) If you liked this story, you might like my soulmate au, [Signal Lost (& Found)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11910462).
> 
> at1stsoo
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/at1stsoo) | [Tumblr](http://at1stsoo.tumblr.com) | [CuriousCat](http://curiouscat.me/At1stsight)


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